Bill Belichick’s first game as a college coach certainly didn’t go the way he had hoped.

TCU put a serious damper on Belichick’s college coaching debut, dominating North Carolina by a score of 48-14 on Monday night in Chapel Hill.

TCU’s 48 points marked the most allowed by UNC in a season opener in school history and the most allowed by any Belichick-coached team ever.

Like other people around the country, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was tuned into Belichick’s debut, and during his weekly Tuesday press conference, Swinney gave his reaction to what he saw.

“I had it on while I was in the office [Monday] night. It’s a tough opener, but I mean, he’ll be alright. He’s Bill Belichick,” Swinney said. 

Swinney is confident that Belichick’s UNC team, which has an overhauled roster featuring 70 new players – 40 transfers and 30 true freshmen – will improve going forward.

“A bunch of new players, it’s an opener – they’ll get better. They’ll get better. I promise you, they’ll get better,” Swinney said. “But you coach long enough, you’re going to have some good days. Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug. I’ve been both. You coach long enough, you’re going to have some great streaks go your way, you’re going to have some bad streaks go your way.”

The 73-year-old Belichick, who holds the NFL record for most Super Bowl wins (six with the New England Patriots as head coach and two more with the New York Giants as a coordinator), was named UNC’s new head coach on Dec. 11, 2024. Belichick, the second-winningest coach in NFL history, agreed to a five-year deal.

A three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year, Belichick has an all-time NFL head coaching record of 333-178 and is only 14 NFL wins away from the overall wins record. He is a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s and the 2010s, and he also was a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and holds the record for most NFL Playoff victories (31).

Belichick began his coaching career in 1975 as an assistant for the Baltimore Colts and became the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in 1985, where he won two Super Bowls under Bill Parcells. He was named head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and was at the helm for five seasons. He also coached with the New England Patriots and New York Jets before becoming the head coach of the Patriots in 2000. In 24 seasons, New England won 17 AFC East titles, made 13 AFC Championship appearances and nine Super Bowl appearances. 

“If you coach a long time, that means you’ve had more success than failures, and I’d say he qualifies,” Swinney said. “That’d be a bad day, but they’ll get better. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

After a Clemson open date on the weekend of Sept. 27, Swinney and Belichick will go head-to-head when the Tigers and Tar Heels face off in Chapel Hill on Oct. 4.

Clemson is riding a six-game winning streak in the series against UNC and can match its longest winning streak in series history (seven straight from 1986-92) with a win. A win would also make Clemson 2-0 all-time against Super Bowl champion head coaches, including a 1-0 mark against Barry Switzer.

Up next for Belichick and UNC is a road contest at Charlotte at 7 p.m. Saturday.

–Photo courtesy of Bob Donnan-Imagn Images