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By Andrew McCarty
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In his first season as North Carolina head coach, Bill Belichick isn't having the success anyone predicted.
On Saturday, the Tar Heels picked up their sixth loss of the season in a 28-12 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who hired head coach Jake Dickert after Belichick landed in Chapel Hill. As Belichick struggles to bring the Tar Heels to bowl eligibility, Dickert picked up his seventh win, tying a program record for the most wins in a coach's first season with two regular season games left to play.
"What an unbelievable performance by our team. There was a lot of good, hard work. I told them at halftime, 'We didn't prepare this week to play 30 minutes, we prepared to play 60.' I thought that was a dominant fourth quarter with a lot of physicality and I thought our mentality took over," Dickert said after the win.
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Belichick's struggles and Dickert's success could be summed up in the postgame handshake the two shared after Wake Forest's victory on Saturday night. The Demon Deacons coach ran towards Belichick while removing his hat as the six-time Super Bowl champion coach plodded his way across the field for a blow-by handshake.
Belichick's actions after the game caught the attention of many, including North Carolina sports talk host Josh Graham.
"This is an awful look for Bill Belichick. When you occupy the space Bill does, you should recognize what these games mean to opposing coaches. Jake Dickert even removed his hat as he approached to shake hands," Graham said while showing video of the handshake.
Several fans agreed with his assessment.
"Message for Bill…blowing off a young coach cheapens the whole standard you built," one fan said.
"Bill out here acting like a handshake is harder than winning games lately," another added.
One user replied: "This reflects more upon Bill Belichick’s character than anyone else."
"It’s beyond me why UNC would want someone like Bill Belichick to represent the university," remarked another.
Dickert, meanwhile, opted to focus on his team's success and victory over the Tar Heels.
"I'm really proud of our locker room. I said it on Monday, and I said it during the press conference on Wednesday, I've felt the passion of this game all the way through. This game meant something to us. Even Nick Andersen told me how this game just meant a little more," Dickert said.
"So that is what we said. We said, 'Let's get a little more effort, restraint, focus, discipline and execution.' Our guys went out there and made big plays. I'm really proud of Robby Ashford and our offensive line. Our defense is completely lights out, especially in the red zone. I'm just really proud of our football team and want to enjoy this win."
Wake Forest closes out the regular season against Delaware and Duke while North Carolina will face Duke and NC State.
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