The circus of Bill Belichick has been the headline of UNC's football season, along with the fact that the Tar Heels are 2-3 on the season and have yet to beat a power conference opponent. The rumors of Belichick either leaving at the end of the season or the university actually using his buyout have been flying around this week.
On College GameDay in Eugene, Oregon, this morning, however, the crew at the desk wasn't so fast to turn their backs on Belichick just yet, which seems a little crazy. Belichick has been basically a circus with his girlfriend in her twenties, banning the Patriots from anything with UNC because of a grudge he is holding, or simply just the way he is acting in the facilities.
College GameDay crew believes it is too soon to makes judgements on Bill Belichick
Football commentator and analyst Kirk Herbstreit isn't so quick to turn on Belichick because he feels that he needs a couple of good "draft classes" or, in college football, recruiting classes, to get into the groove of things.
When Belichick came in, he wasn't able to bring in as many players in the open window after a coach is fired, which is 30 days after the firing, as he wanted to, so he had to work on bringing in high school recruits and try to fill the holes from the portal where he could. Herbstreit said that Belichick knows the NFL system, which can be similar to the college system of recruiting classes and the transfer portal, but he needs time to get his guys into the building without having to build an entire roster.
In the middle of talking about Belichick, Herbstreit reportedly even got a call from the UNC head coach, at least that is what Pat McAfee said. That itself shows that he is not really in his right mind because who would call like that?
Answer that phone 😂😂
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 11, 2025
That is Bill Belichick calling @KirkHerbstreit right now #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/FdBp8fAlm4
Former Alabama head coach, who had experience coaching in the NFL as well, said it is just going to take time for Belichick to build something at UNC. Rebuilds are not a fast process, and it is rare for a team to be so good the first season with a new head coach. Saban even shared a story about how Alabama lost to ULM in his first season and how people didn't believe in him, but we all know what he went on to do with the Crimson Tide after that.
Desmond Howard made a good point that Belichick had to go out quickly and get players he thought would work well in his system and with his culture of football, and to this point, it hasn't worked out. Now, as long as he is around, Belichick has to go out and see who he can find again; it is called working with what you have.
Pete Thamel did report that Belichick is out on the recruiting trail this weekend with UNC on a bye, so if he already had the plans made to leave at the end of the season, he probably wouldn't be out trying to build his roster for next season.