Joel Klatt explains why he thinks Bill Belichick may have faced ‘unfair’ expectations during his first season at North Carolina
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
North Carolina topped TCU 15-10 on Saturday, making Bill Belichick a winner in his 2026 season opener. That’s not to say the Tar Heels will be national champions. But at least for one day, things didn’t look half bad.
Given a 4-8 record in 2025 and a tumultuous offseason, many were low on Belichick and the North Carolina program coming into 2026. After watching the Heels’ win over the Horned Frogs, Joel Klatt is taking a more “wait-and-see” approach.
“Maybe it was unfair of all of us to expect that right away and then write them off, and we should have just given them time to implement what they wanted to do at UNC,” Klatt said on the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show.” “Now, do I think that this is evidence of staying power and a great season? I don’t know yet. I’m going to refrain from making a conclusion too far out.”
Klatt argued that Curt Cignetti’s instant success at Indiana may have set too high an expectation for first-year head coaches. Cignetti inherited a three-win team and led them to 11 wins in his first year. In Year 2, the Hoosiers were national champions.
“(Maybe) because he succeeded right away, we want to see that. ‘Hey, transfer portal, NIL. It’s not always the case,” Klatt said. “Maybe it’s the case that this was more of a slow build and they’re getting to a point where they’ll play much better this season.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
