Bill Belichick's Possible Turnaround with North Carolina

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00:00We mentioned Bill Belichick.

00:01He opened at a 19-and-a-half-point road favorite over Charlotte.

00:06After that loss to TCU, Coach, that line shrunk to 13-and-a-half.

00:11North Carolina responds with a gutty defensive road effort.

00:15They pick up the victory 20-3 over the 49ers.

00:19Maybe there's some optimism now in Chapel Hill,

00:23but they still have a long road to make it in the ACC.

00:26I tell you, there's not any room for optimism.

00:30If you can't get optimism after how bad it was last week,

00:33but I don't think that Charlotte is a real good indicator of improvement.

00:37They scored quick, and then they fell asleep again.

00:40Did not dominate a Charlotte team.

00:43They needed to win real bad.

00:44It was so ugly the week before, but I don't think this game,

00:48this win was an indicator that the program is there.

00:51I think they've got four or five wins when you look at their schedule.

00:54I think they've got four or five wins, but I'm just not sure I've seen enough so far.

00:58I think the quarterback at best is a very average quarterback.

01:02I think at best, you know, that five wins, maybe six would be the limit.

01:07Well, when you look at Bilicek, we know he's a defensive-minded head coach, right?

01:11So they give up 40-plus to TCU week one.

01:15He had six months of preparation, and maybe it was a feeling-out process.

01:19They rushed for well over 200 yards, well over five yards per carry.

01:23They only give up three points to Charlotte.

01:26That has to be sort of a silver lining, potentially.

01:29And from the coaching perspective, because they now have two more winnable

01:34out-of-conference games before they square off at home

01:37against potentially top-ranked Clemson,

01:40is there anything that they could do or he can do from the coaching staff perspective

01:44over the next couple of weeks to build momentum

01:46before they face off against the Tigers?

01:49You know, he's been a head coach for so long, and I think your ability,

01:53and I don't know if it transfers from the pros to college,

01:56but you've got to motivate these young people.

01:58You've got to inspire them.

02:00You've got to build up their conference.

02:01They're not grown men, all of them.

02:03They're young men, of course, but it's a little different than the NFL,

02:06and I think what he's got to do is build confidence,

02:09let them know that he believes in them,

02:11because you don't really think of Bill Belichick as a guy that just bubbles

02:15with enthusiasm and bubbles with excitement,

02:17but I think he needs to show a lot of positive feelings about this football team

02:22because they're not going to get real good real quick.

02:24I think, if anything, Belichick and his staff probably underestimated

02:30the difficult road they had to hoe.

02:32They had to build that program, but all they can do right now,

02:36now you've got some games you can win, some non-conference games,

02:39build confidence, get your kids believing, make any adjustments where you might have.

02:43You've got 70 new people.

02:45You've got some guys playing that might not need to be playing.

02:47You've got some guys on the bench that may need more time.

02:50Let's make those decisions so you're a better football team

02:54halfway through the season than you are right now.

02:56They held Charlotte to 22 yards rushing on 28 carries,

03:01less than a yard per carry, so that's got to be a positive, right?

03:05But I want to get your thoughts about the quarterback position.

03:08Gio Lopez, the South Alabama transfer,

03:10had a very inconsistent game one against TCU.

03:14He gave way to Max Johnson, the former LSU, Texas A&M quarterback.

03:19He bounces back with a touchdown, no interceptions, 155 yards.

03:23Over the next couple of weeks, if Gio Lopez, let's say, doesn't develop

03:27and the offense isn't throwing for 250 or 275 per game,

03:32would you be out to maybe potentially make a quarterback change to Max Johnson

03:36that maybe gives you a better shot to win football games?

03:40Yeah, I mean, if anything, that's something you do in a situation like North Carolina.

03:44New coach, new program, new future.

03:47Let's make sure we're building for the future.

03:49Let's just don't get halfway down the road this year and say,

03:52you know what, we should have gone with another guy way back there.

03:55Make your decision and go with it.

03:57You're going to be able to reevaluate these guys as you go,

04:01because I think the quarterback, to be honest with you, as what I've seen,

04:04not a bad quarterback, but I don't think he has great ability,

04:08very average in the ACC compared to the other quarterbacks that are there.

04:12So he may be the best they've got.

04:13I think they still thought he was going into game two.

04:16He played better.

04:18But if it doesn't get better down the road,

04:21you've got to make that move quickly because too late doesn't help you at all this year.

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