First-year North Carolina coach Bill Belichick has dominated college football headlines this offseason.
Belichick was always going to elicit outsized interest as many are fascinated to see how the NFL’s greatest coach will fare in his first foray into college football. However, the attention has surpassed anything anyone could have imagined as Belichick’s off-field life has shaped the narrative over the past few months.
It’s what his standing in CBS Sports’ annual coach rankings such a fascinating question. What do you value more: the six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots or the fact he’s never coached a college football game?
In the end, there was a wide disparity between our voters. Belichick finished No. 54 in the rankings, behind coaches such as Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Boston College’s Bill O’Brien (who worked for him in New England) and Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith.
We asked the voter highest on Belichick (John Talty at No. 19) and lowest (Richard Johnson at No. 67) to explain their thinking.
Complete Power Four coach rankings: 1-25 | 26-68
Why Belichick should be ranked at the bottom
My rationale is simple here, there are two men who have never coached college football at all in this group: Bill Belichick and Frank Reich. Belichick was a better NFL coach so he beat out Reich, but I have them second to last and last in my rankings on principle. Hiring the best coach of all time sounds good in a vacuum, but there is just no telling how good he’s actually going to be.
First of all, North Carolina wasn’t exactly great under Mack Brown — which is the reason why Belichick is in the job anyway. The Pats were also middling to terrible in his last three seasons as head coach — which is the reason he’s not still in that job. If you’re predicting anything beyond “I don’t know” when it comes to Belichick as a college football coach this year, it’s based on prior success with Tom Brady, which is not the reality of this current situation. He’s not that guy, and Heels aren’t that team, it’s just deeply unclear how good he can actually be. — Richard Johnson
Why Belichick is a top-20 coach
Call me crazy, but I’m betting on the NFL’s greatest coach finding a way to win in a wide-open ACC. Outside of Clemson, there aren’t any ACC teams on the schedule that feel like definite losses for Belichick’s Tar Heels. I believe in Belichick’s ability to get the most out of South Alabama QB transfer Gio Lopez and the rest of a moderately talented roster and win at least eight games in Year 1.
Will UNC compete for national championships under Belichick? Unlikely, but you never know. Can he elevate UNC and out-coach some teams that don’t exactly wow you with their Xs and Os prowess? Absolutely. We’ve seen successful NFL coaches like Lovie Smith fail in their transition to the college game, but Belichick is the best to ever attempt it and the one whose unrelenting desire to find any and every schematic advantage possible gives him a leg up on many of his new peers. I’m out on an island in my Belichick ranking but don’t be surprised to see him take a big leap in our rankings next year. — John Talty
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