While the University of North Carolina’s hire of Bill Belichick has shocked many throughout the sports world, ESPN’s biggest voice is decrying the move as one below the standards of the coach.
Belichick, the eight-time Super Bowl champion who built arguably the greatest professional sports dynasty ever in New England, was announced as the next head coach of the Tar Heels’ football team on Wednesday evening.
While the early prognosis is that Belichick would do wonders for UNC, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said that the job was ‘beneath’ the head coach.
‘I applaud the University of North Carolina for hiring him. Very, very smart on their part,’ Smith said on Thursday’s episode of ‘First Take’.
‘But… When’s the last time North Carolina football has really been relevant in the national championship picture or anything like that. I think it was not since 1980, if I remember correctly.
‘They’re in the ACC. It’s a respectable conference, but we all know it’s not the SEC. It’s not the Big Ten. So I look at it from that standpoint, and I just say, I don’t blame them one bit. It’s a tremendous hire on North Carolina’s part, and they were wise to make this move.
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is now the coach at North Carolina
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes that the job is ‘beneath’ a man of Belichick’s legacy
‘For Bill Belichick, I’m not going to say it was not wise for him to take the job. I’m simply saying it’s beneath him, meaning that this man is the greatest ever… and nobody’s in a position to disagree. We’ve got the Bill Walshes of the world, the Chuck Noll’s of the world, the Vince Lombardi’s of the world, the Tom Landry’s of the world, the Jimmy Johnson’s of the world, Don Shula, various others, Bill Parcells, et cetera. Many, many great coaches have graced the National Football League.
‘When you say Bill Belichick is the greatest, nobody sits up there and they’re aghast at such a suggestion because that’s how phenomenal he is. For him to be phenomenal, there were eight head coaching openings last year. Three were fulfilled by former head coaches who were getting a second chance. Another five were first-time head coaches.
‘This is Bill Belichick. He’s a six-time champion as a head coach. He is also a two-time champion as a coordinator. Now, I understand that since Tom Brady left, it left a lot to be desired because obviously, in the four years that Tom Brady was gone, they only went to the postseason once, lost that playoff game, never won a playoff game, record was below 500. It was abysmal. In his development of young quarterbacks, it was just a nightmare. We get that part.
‘But the bottom line is, nobody would question this man’s football acumen, his football credentials, his resume, his ability to lead and to oversee. And for there to be eight head coach openings in the NFL and him not get one, to see teams like Cincinnati and Jacksonville and Dallas and others in the NFL, where we anticipate, at least in some of those places, where change could be taking place.
‘For Bill Belichick to take the job at the University of North Carolina, where we’re talking about the Tar Heels. When we think Tar Heels, we think basketball. That’s a fact. We don’t think football, we think basketball. Now, can he change that? And will he change that? Probably so.
‘But what I’m saying about it being beneath him – because it’s a damn shame that this is the job he had to take to be back into coaching. He’s Bill Belichick. He deserves so much more than the history of North Carolina football warrants. That’s what I’m saying when I say it’s beneath him.
‘They are incredibly lucky to have him because I never in my wildest dreams believed that a six-time champion that coached Tom Brady for 20 years would be taking a job at the University of North Carolina football. I didn’t see that.’
Belichick’s move comes after UNC fired head coach Mack Brown following a disappointing 6-6 campaign. The Tar Heels still have one more game to play this season – the Fenway Bowl against 8-4 UConn – where tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will helm the team.