Bill Belichick, in his first season as the head football coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, spent the opening six weeks of the season making news for all the wrong reasons. This week alone brought reports of locker room dissension, the cancellation of a Hulu documentary about the Tar Heels’ season, and rumors (denied by Belichick) that his first-ever college head coaching gig could be coming to a premature end.
The messy start to the eight-time Super Bowl champion’s college coaching career underscores a significant issue: The exacting demands and rigid control that work in the National Football League don’t translate well to the world of college football — one where success depends as much on building relationships as it does on strategy or wins.