CHAPEL HILL, N.C. \u2014 The only question by halftime Saturday was who would enjoy Bill Belichick\u2019s latest loss more: former Tar Heels coach Mack Brown or Patriots owner Robert Kraft?<\/p>\n
North Carolina\u2019s disastrous start to Belichick\u2019s head coaching tenure continued with a 38-10 loss to Clemson<\/a>, in which the Tigers scored on a double pass on the game\u2019s first play from scrimmage and coasted to a 28-3 lead after one quarter.<\/p>\n A Clemson offense that had made everything look difficult during the season\u2019s first month made shredding UNC\u2019s defense look easy. When quarterback Cade Klubnik wasn\u2019t throwing to wide-open teammates downfield, he was flipping screen passes to receivers, tight ends and running backs, who waltzed through police escorts into the end zone.<\/p>\n The first streams of fans made their way out of Kenan Stadium and back onto UNC\u2019s idyllic campus during the first quarter. By halftime, the stadium that began the day mostly full was almost empty.<\/p>\n If the Tar Heels thought asking rapper Ludacris to perform on campus at 10 a.m. \u2014 \u201cOut of my 25 years doing this, the earliest show I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d he told the crowd \u2014 was embarrassing, it didn\u2019t compare with what UNC put on the field on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cOh man, the energy is here. Y\u2019all definitely gonna win today,\u201d Ludacris said during his 45-plus minute set. Fortunately, he\u2019s a better rapper than college football prognosticator.<\/p>\n The Tar Heels have played three Power 4 opponents this season, none of which have been ranked. They\u2019ve lost by 34, 25 and 28 points.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just bad. It\u2019s inexcusable, despite the program\u2019s best efforts.<\/p>\n This week, Football Scoop published a letter<\/a> from UNC general manager Mike Lombardi to program supporters. It outlined some of the roster issues and attrition the program is dealing with, preached patience and explained that the program planned to sign around 40 high school prospects this winter, almost double the size of the average recruiting class.<\/p>\n The letter also cited the Philadelphia 76ers\u2019 \u201cTrust the Process\u201d deep rebuild strategy. And it cited the early struggles of coaches like Mack Brown in his first go-around at UNC, going 2-20 in 1988 and 1989, as well as the first seasons for Nick Saban at Alabama, Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Lou Holtz at Notre Dame and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa.<\/p>\n And, of course, Belichick\u2019s early struggles in Cleveland and in New England in the NFL.<\/p>\n None of that is relevant to college football in 2025. The sport has changed. Patience went out the door with amateurism. And so did the old ways of roster building.<\/p>\n Get money. Get wins. If you can\u2019t get either, get out.<\/p>\n The examples cited are quaint. But none of the issues with the roster are unique to North Carolina. Every program deals with it. Every first-year coach deals with it.<\/p>\n And any issues with retaining and attracting talent require a long look in the mirror.<\/p>\n Much of the appeal of hiring Belichick is hoping he brings with him a magnetism for players who want to learn under a coach with six Super Bowl rings. When is that magnet being activated?<\/p>\n Instead, the program lost many of its best players from a season ago, two of them after spring practice when defensive lineman Beau Atkinson left for Ohio State and linebacker Amare Campbell left for Penn State.<\/p>\n