New report describes widespread dysfunction at Belichick’s UNC

It's not going well for Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar-Heels on the field, and it's no surprise that their struggles are a reflection of problems off the field as well.

A new report by Pat Welter at WRAL in North Carolina describes a football program that is floundering due to "a divided locker room, a disorganized coaching staff and a failure to communicate." A source described the team to Welter as "an unstructured mess," adding: "There's no culture, no organization. It's a complete disaster."

The communication issues go all the way up to Belichick himself. According to Welter, holdovers from the fired Mack Brown didn't meet Belichick for weeks after his hire, and parents of players were reportedly "told not to approach" the new head coach. One parent told WRAL that there's been "no communication with coaches and parents, period," not so much as an email or a text message. Knowing the Belichicks, it's no surprise that Bill's son, defensive coordinator Steven Belichick, is just as bad about communication (or lack thereof). A source told Welter that the elder Belichick son doesn't talk with most of UNC's defensive players, and they don't even have his phone number.

Patriots fans are certainly quite familiar with Belichick's preferred communication style in public settings, which is minimal. But it's striking to learn that he's employing the same strategy privately, with his own program. A source told WRAL that Belichick "shuts people out" and is "limited in what he says." That wouldn't be an issue if he made up for a lack of words with impactful communication within those words, but it's obviously not having a positive overall effect.

This detail is just funny: UNC general manager and noted Belichick mouthpiece Michael Lombardi was described by multiple people as "rude" and "nasty." No surprise there, for anyone whose heard Lombardi's arrogant, condescending style talking down to people about the game of football.

The story also portrays the Belichick program at UNC as one that didn't understand the college game, or how it works in terms of recruiting or team-building, as much as his regime believed going into the job. It's led to disorganized handling of game-week rosters and a locker room filled with players looking around at each other wondering who's going to step up and lead, among other problems that can send a football program down the toilet.

And the pure pettiness goes without saying. Belichick banned Patriots scouts from attending UNC practices, and even reportedly instructed the team's social media accounts not to post about the Patriots. The last one is notable, considering the Pats are currently led by quarterback Drake Maye, one of the best football players ever to come out of UNC.

There's not a lot of good to say about Belichick's new football chapter down at Chapel Hill. They've lost two games in a row by at least 25 points each, and the head coach is facing a deluge of negative press in the wake of their on-field turmoil. The only way for him to turn this around, now, is to simply start winning football games.