Bill Belichick began the college football season by leading North Carolina to a 15-10 win over TCU. The upset led Paul Finebaum to reconsider his harsh commentary regarding the legendary head coach. Finebaum set expectations low for Belichick's second season at Chapel Hill.
Last week, the ESPN analyst called the six-time Super Bowl champion a "grouch" and a "bully" before predicting that his college coaching career was "about to go down in flames." Belichick quieted Finebaum and other critics with a season-opening victory in Dublin. Finebaum ate crow when discussing the outcome on Monday morning. "He proved that he still has it," Finebaum said on "Get Up." "I, and many others, were wrong.
Nobody was a bigger mouth than me." Belichick began his UNC tenure with a 48-14 loss to TCU last year and finished the season with a 4-8 record. The program has faced more off-field turmoil, as general manager Michael Lombardi remains on leave amid an internal investigation. Finebaum didn't have high hopes for the Tar Heels, but he can now see them improving enough to reach an important threshold.
"He went from having no chance to get to a bowl game to now being in a position," Finebaum said. "And I think that is the litmus test for him this year because some of the other schools on the schedule, namely NC State, just looked awful. So I'm starting to count very close to six wins on that schedule.
I'm almost there, but that is a significant accomplishment." UNC will host East Tennessee State in its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 before facing an early-season test in a road matchup against Clemson.
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