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Bill Belichick had a knack during his Patriots tenure for moving on from a player sooner rather than later, not wanting to wait until the production dipped.
One of his former players, Ted Johnson, believes North Carolina needs to take a similar tactic regarding its new coach amid the alleged growing concern about the famous coach, particularly in the aftermath of his disastrous CBS interview featuring 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson constantly interrupting.
Johnson said he believes Hudson has been “embarrassing Bill.”
“I hold college coaches to a higher standard than I do NFL coaches when it comes to morally, they are supposed to leaders of men, set a good example that kind of thing,” Johnson said on “WEEI Afternoons” on Tuesday. “I’m surprised UNC never called Atlanta on why they passed on hiring Bill Belichick. My feeling is that the Atlanta Falcons are kinda looking at the UNC and going, ‘You should have called us.’
“I say all that to say this: I think the … Tar Heels should consider firing Bill Belichick. They should consider letting him go at this point. It’s a lot of money and they’re deep into, obviously, their preparation for next year, but I look at Bill Belichick and I wonder if he’s fit to coach an NFL team, let alone fit to coach a college team which, again, I put more onus on the character and personality and just overall character, if you will, of a college coach than I do a pro coach. I’m worried that Bill Belichick just isn’t fit to coach college kids and UNC should consider cutting ties with Bill Belichick.”
Johnson played for Belichick for five seasons from 2000-04, winning three championships under his tutelage. He spent 10 total season with the Patriots after being a second-round pick in1995.
His belief in moving on from Belichick, 73, is rooted in his idea of what a college coach’s role should be, which is influenced by his time playing for late Colorado coach Bill McCartney.
Johnson referred to McCartney — the Buffaloes’ coach from 1982-94 — as “damn close to perfect,” praising him for setting an example and being a coach who made the university “proud.”
With Belichick, he’s not sure how the Tar Heels can be proud since most of the storylines are focused on his relationship with Hudson and her role with the program.
Belichick has asked for her to be CC’d on emails and Hudson sent the school emails expressing concerns about social media comments and how son and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is described.
Hudson released an email Tuesday after the CBS interview fiasco in which she said “we’re not talking about this” in regards to a question about how the two met, in addition to other butt-ins.
“These big institutions are proud institutions and it reflects on the institution when you hire coaches that aren’t reflecting the value of what you’re all about and I just don’t think Bill is doing that right now,” Johnson said. “If I’m UNC, I’ve heard all of guys guy say … this is going to get worse before it gets better. So with that in mind, don’t you think it’s better to cut loose now than see this thing through?”
When pressed about what Belichick has done that would qualify as a fireable offense, Johnson cited the much-scrutinized relationship between the pair.
“What you’ve seen so far, the behaviors with Jordon. That dynamic, her being on the football field, her just kind of embarrassing Bill,” Johnson said. “People say, ‘Well, she’s taken control of Bill. You think Bill doesn’t have any say in how these things go?’ Of course he does. He’s OK with what she’s doing. You don’t think he knows that that email was being posted on her Instagram? Of course he knows. He’s signing off on that. To me, those are bad decisions that makes him and the university look really bad and question whether or not he is of sound mind and should be running a football team at the University of North Carolina. I think it’s something you have to really, really consider. Just question the decision-making from the head coach at this point for those reasons.”
Beyond the off-the-field situation, Johnson also isn’t sure if Belichick is really meant to guide young men in the way McCartney did for him and others.
“I’ve always said this about Bill. Bill Belichick never has really cared about his players, like genuinely cared. Bill Parcells genuinely cared about his players. Case in point, he’s given millions of his own money to help players that have had problems post-football,” Johnson said. “Bill Belichick would never do that, never even considering doing that. At the college level, you really need coaches that care about players and them as human being and them as men. Bill Belichick has never cared about his players and it’s just not a good fit considering what I’m seeing going on right now from Bill.”
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