Bill Belichick is not coaching North Carolina during the Fenway Bowl even though he was named as the university’s new head coach earlier this month. Although his decision to hand the reins to Freddy Kitchens for the postseason is not uncommon, the 72-year-old did not even travel to his former state for the game.
The university offered a weak justification for Belichick’s absence.
School officials told ESPN that the six-time Super Bowl champion didn’t want to be a distraction for the Tar Heels. Linebacker Amare Campbell said he is too focused on next season to make the trip from Chapel Hill to Boston. The first-year head coach also skipped out on bowl practices all together.
He’s totally dialed into building the roster. He didn’t want to go to practice or be a distraction to the kids or the coaches for the bowl game.
It’s been great. He and Mike Lombardi have locked themselves in a room and really spent all the time since he’s been announced, building the roster for this spring and next year.
— Amara Campbell
For Belichick to be focused on next season is a good thing. That is exactly what he should be doing. College football programs can use the transfer portal to be competitive in Year 1 of a new regime.
There is no reason for Belichick to be at practice while Kitchens prepares a UNC team that could look completely different in just a few days/weeks. He is right that it could be a distraction. Incoming coaches rarely take over upon arrival. The bowl game provides a clean break for a fresh start.
Bill Belichick isn’t at the Fenway Bowl!
Come Saturday morning, a hazy mist loomed over the most historic stadium in Major League Baseball. Temperatures hovered around 40 degrees or slightly below. It was a late December day in New England.
It’s not exactly bowl game designation weather. Rainy and 37 degrees here in Boston. UNC and UConn coming up in about an hour at the third Fenway Bowl. Tar Heels trying to stop a four-game losing slide in bowl games. pic.twitter.com/6TXdzAkFfg
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) December 28, 2024
As the Tar Heels took the field for warmups, their new head coach was not in attendance. Belichick was nowhere to be found.
Football weather 🌧️@UNCFootball | @wasabi_cloud pic.twitter.com/4mvPY3BhAa
— Wasabi Fenway Bowl (@FenwayBowl) December 28, 2024
Yes, Belichick can watch his current/future team play in the Fenway Bowl from the comfort of his couch or in the coaches offices on campus in Chapel Hill. He does not need to be in Boston to scout the current roster. There is no downside to staying home.
With that being said, it’s not like Bill Belichick couldn’t have flown in a private jet from North Carolina to Massachussetts on Friday night or even Saturday morning and watched the game from a box. The Tar Heels didn’t need to know that he was in attendance. He absolutely could’ve been there in person without being a distraction. That’s a bogus excuse!