For the record, I like my heated seat. The first time I owned a car with seat warmers, my immediate reaction was, “Where has this been all my life?!” Even on long car trips to the Outer Banks during the summer, it acts like a back massager. I’m a big fan of seat heat. I even rigged an electric blanket on our swinging sofa on the porch, which keeps the backside warm while facing the fire. During our recent snow, I sat out there all night and comfortably watched it come down.
Belichick’s coaching seat
these days also puts out some serious heat. Seriously uncomfortable heat. Wintertime college football loves speculative rankings, and a popular one remains, “Which coaches will get fired next season?” Not surprisingly, after fielding a poorly coached football team that went 4-8 against one of the weakest P4 schedules, Belichick’s name appears on almost all of them.
Saturday Down South puts Belichick fourth in their rankings, with this frank appraisal:
Amid much fanfare and hoopla, Belichick took over Chapel Hill and infused so much hope into Tar Heel Nation heading into the 2025 season – only to see the actual product be an absolute train wreck. Coach Hoodie’s off-the-field drama didn’t help make matters easier, as punch-line writers enjoy it when a team performs even more awkwardly than the head coach’s relationship situation. Going to Ireland to start the season in Week 0 will take said drama international, and if the Heels aren’t any better than last season’s 4-8 debacle… well, Chapel Bill might decide to head off into the sunset before the natives get to him first.
No lies told.
Saturday Blitz lists Belichick seventh, one spot ahead of Dave Doeren. If the season comes down to a final game between UNC and State, with the winner getting another season and the loser getting a pink slip, that would be my definition of football hell. That scenario pits my overwhelming desire to beat State against my fervent hopes that Belichick just goes away. Immovable object versus irresistible force.
Bleacher Report ranks Belichick fifth:
The curmudgeon vibe would be cute if North Carolina was winning games. The distractions around Bill Belichick could be disregarded, too.
But the tone of the narrative isn’t great when the Tar Heels finish 4-8.
TCU, UCF and Clemson all hammered UNC early in 2025, and the Triangle schools—Duke, NC State and Wake Forest—swept the Heels. North Carolina only defeated Charlotte, Richmond and awful Syracuse and Stanford teams.
This analysis addresses a key issue with Belichick, one that overlaps with his final (dreadful) seasons in Foxborough. When you’re winning Super Bowls, the aloof “get off my lawn” persona can work: “I’m busy assembling teams that win Super Bowls, I don’t have time for your silly nonsense.” People love to hate “the media.” However, it hits different when you’re getting blown off the field by the likes of TCU, UCF, and NC State.
People hate arrogance, but they’ll tolerate it in a winner. People also hate losing. Arrogant loser? That’s hate multiplied by hate — hate squared. That dynamic made his 8-9 and 4-13 finish in New England even more painful for their fans. And that pattern adds fuel to the fire warming Belichick’s seat in Chapel Hill.
Is this just idle speculation by bored media types? Well, Dabo Swinney had these consoling words for Belichick to say in response to UNC’s scheduled visit to Death Valley next season:
“Bill Belichick doesn’t need any words of encouragement from me,” Swinney said. “He’s been doing this a lot longer than me. It’s not his first rodeo. I’ve seen it (empty stadiums) and lived it and that’s the unfortunate side of this…I don’t think there’s anyone better at that than him and he’s gonna show up and do the work.”
It remains possible that Bill Belichick and Mike Lombardi learned some painful lessons in 2025. 2026 could be the proof of concept they initially promised last season, a team infused by Belichick’s latent greatness and Lombardi’s self-professed genius. They might have assembled a roster of talents overlooked by pedestrian college staffs, talent that only Bill Belichick can unlock…
Yeah, ok, I’m done. But it remains possible. I’m hopeful that’s what we Tar Heel fans get to see starting in Dublin. I can’t wish ill on any Tar Heel coach, even if I think he’s a washed up GOAT executing a massive con job in concert with Mike Lombardi, a final payday at the expense of UNC after the NFL said good riddance to them both.
What are your thoughts on Belichick and a hot seat in year two? What do you need to see year two that would justify a year three?
