College football insider questions if Bill Belichick is serious about UNC job after skipping key recruiting weekends

The chatter surrounding Bill Belichick’s tenure astatine North Carolina has already been noteworthy. Since signing with the Tar Heels successful December, the erstwhile New England Patriots caput manager has been a magnet for headlines.

And nary of it has had thing to bash with what’s happening connected the shot field.

From recruiting to renovations astatine Kenan Stadium—it’s each been overshadowed. The absorption has alternatively centered connected Belichick’s unusual narration with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson.

The property spread unsocial sparked attention, but what followed lone intensified the nationalist scrutiny. Hudson has reportedly taken connected a nationalist relations relation for Belichick, and the pair’s idiosyncratic and nonrecreational relationship—whether exaggerated oregon not—has drawn wide criticism. For Belichick, fixed his stature, the fallout has been particularly significant.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel precocious addressed the concern erstwhile asked whether Belichick mightiness resign oregon beryllium fired earlier ever coaching a crippled astatine UNC.

“There’s plentifulness of crushed to beryllium concerned,” Mandel said. “None of this is normal. It whitethorn beryllium that Jordon Hudson made for bully offseason fodder but volition slice into the inheritance erstwhile preseason campy starts and we go much focused connected existent football. But nary of this has eased my archetypal concerns.

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“One of which is: Is helium truly each that dedicated to his job? We cognize helium spent a play successful mid-May astatine the Miss Maine pageant. And my workfellow Brendan Marks inadvertently and hilariously stumbled into him during a New England golfing play soon aft that. Nothing incorrect with a small R&R, I suppose, but that May weekends are often erstwhile recruits instrumentality authoritative visits. Most coaches successful America were apt hosting astatine slightest a few.”

Mandel added that UNC whitethorn person structured recruiting visits astir Belichick’s docket but yet doesn’t judge the manager volition measurement away.

“And to beryllium clear, he’s not going to resign. He doesn’t request to resign. Anyone suggesting different is going retired of their mode to manufacture a blistery take.”

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt echoed that sentiment, saying helium expects Belichick to beryllium connected the sidelines this season—and that helium won’t beryllium phased by the noise.

“I don’t deliberation the unit scale is connected Belichick,” Klatt wrote. “Let’s beryllium honest, Belichick isn’t going to consciousness a batch of unit astatine UNC. If this doesn’t spell his way, he’s not going to suffer a batch of slumber implicit this.

“Rather, the unit is connected the instrumentality base. You tin archer that the instrumentality basal is invested successful this successful a mode that’s akin to Colorado and Deion Sanders. They hired perchance the champion manager successful NFL history, truthful possibly they’re conscionable blessed he’s successful Chapel Hill.”

Whatever the outcome, 1 happening is clear: Once the play begins, Belichick volition person the attraction of the assemblage shot world—and UNC fans—every week.