Somewhere in the past few years, college football and pro football have swapped identities.
I came to this realization when news broke that the Tennessee Titans had fired their beleaguered head coach, Brian
Callahan. Titans nation is enduring a miserable stretch of fandom as the team has completely fallen apart the past two to three years; Callahan finished with a 4-19 coaching record as the Titans finished dead last in the NFL last year and are off to a 1-5 start this season. If you’re a Titans fan, though, you still have some measure of hope — or at least enough to keep you invested in the franchise’s future. The Titans have the number one overall pick Cam Ward at quarterback for the next several years, and with a likely top three pick in the 2026 NFL draft they should be able to stockpile more young talent to build around. Sure, this year is lost, but you certainly can make a case that there is at least a case for hope for the (very distant) Titan’s future.
College football used to be similar; often teams went into a season knowing it was a “rebuilding” year. You got the young guys some reps and practice, hopefully eked out a bowl bid and set your sights on most of the team returning next season to put together a competitive season. Even if the season went poorly, there was usually a shred of hope to hang on to: a solid recruiting class, a new coach, or maybe even just better injury luck. The NIL era has largely put an end to that; coaches are forced to re-recruit their current teams, and players often seek either more playing time or more money at a different school. For better or worse, large scale roster turnover is a part of college football for the foreseeable future.
Which leads me to wonder: what does hope look like for this year’s UNC football team? The Bill Belichick experience has gotten off to just about the worst start possible. The team has been uncompetitive against pretty much any team with a pulse; an avalanche of rumors of discontent and chaos behind the scenes has emerged, NCAA violations are already being discussed, and Belichick has already gotten the dreaded vote of confidence from the administration just five games into the season. Unlike pro football, the players aren’t under contract next year. Even if Bryce Baker or Au’tori Newkirk get some meaningful reps (and that seems like a big “if” at the moment), there’s no guarantee they won’t decide they would rather take their chances at a program with less drama surrounding it. Currently, neither Belichick nor the UNC administrations seem to have any plans on moving on, so wholesale changes seem unlikely.
I suspect hope among Carolina fans hope looks one of two ways. The first is that despite all that’s happened so far, Belichick will manage to eventually right the ship and deliver on his promise to elevate the UNC football program. Buried in all the drama and negative press were some positives, such as mostly positive praise for his one-on-one coaching and strength and nutrition regimens. While coaching college ball is clearly a different animal, Belichick still seems to know football. There’s scant evidence this will happen, but it’s possible Belichick will take the criticisms to heart and make the changes needed to get the Heels back on the rails. If this is your hope, you’re probably just looking for some signs of improvement over the final seven games, as well as the coaching staff bringing on some experienced assistants to help Belichick learn the nuances of running a college program. The 2026 recruiting class so far seems to be holding together, bringing in an infusion of much needed talent that enables the Heels to be at least respectable next year.
The other side of hope for this UNC team is of a much darker variety. It’s likely many fans are already ready to move on from the current coaching staff and start fresh, assuming that the money can be found to buy out Belichick’s contract. In a way, the team being so bad is a backhanded blessing; it’s much better to move on after one atrocious year than muddle along in mediocrity for years before finally pulling the plug (see: State, N.C.). Of course, this requires UNC actually moving on after 2025 and hiring a competent head coach that knows college ball. Belichick so far seems determined to stick it out, but every lopsided loss has increased the pressure on both Belichick and UNC to make a change. It’s strange to think about dyed-in-the-wool UNC fans rooting for their team to lose, but for these fans, hope might actually look like a blowout loss to Cal and the Heels generally being so unwatchable that there’s no choice but for both parties to move on.
Of course, it’s unlikely Belichick moves on without another option opening up. I hear the Titans are looking for a good NFL coach; perhaps the move could restore hope for two fanbases.
