By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Playing for a coaching legend who projects a gruff personality might seem intimidating, but North Carolina players say that being coached by Bill Belichick hasn’t been like that at all.
His humor and hands-on coaching style have won over newcomers and returning players. Some players are not only adjusting to playing for a six-time Super Bowl champion but to living in a different part of the country.
In addition to playing for a new coach, many aspects of living in the Triangle that seem natural to native North Carolinians take some getting used to if you aren’t from around here.
Defensive back Thaddeus Dixon (top photo), who grew up in Los Angeles and played two seasons at Washington, said, “It’s been a culture shock.”
The trees that are abundant around Kenan Stadium, his new football home, and throughout Chapel Hill made an impression on him.
“There are a lot of trees out here, bro,” Dixon said. “Every time I leave the house, just a lot of trees. The food has been good; the people are real nice. Probably just the weather and just being around nature a lot more.”
His teammates hooked him up with a new activity.
“I’ve been going fishing,” Dixon said. “Some of my teammates took me fishing, and some stuff I had never done before. Just little stuff like that. It’s just different. But you learn to enjoy it.”
The differences were welcomed by offensive lineman Christo Kelly, who grew up in Wilmette, Ill., and was an All-Patriot League first-team pick last season playing for Holy Cross.
“I think the biggest change was not having Boston winter, which was pretty nice,” he said. “Getting school canceled with about an inch of snow, and then having it be 70 degrees a couple of days later was pretty remarkable. It’s been great. But the guys that we have here are tremendous.”
All of that hasn’t been an issue for freshman wide receiver Jordan Shipp, a four-star recruit who enrolled for the spring semester after winning three state titles at Providence Day School in Charlotte.
Shipp said that the Belichick that you might see in public is very different when he’s around the team.
“I feel like Coach has a narrative of being serious all the time,” Shipp said. “Coach, he jokes with us. He laughs with us. We’ll laugh in meetings. He has a humorous side to him as well. So, I feel like that’s the biggest curveball. You’re coming into the first meeting, you’re expected to be serious, 100% locked in. He comes in and he introduces himself, and then he busts a joke.”
Shipp said that Belichick caught him off guard even after a less-than stellar moment.
“Even in meetings, we’re kind of laughing about a play,” Shipp said. “There was a play where I tripped during the spring right in front of him. He was like, ‘Tripped on air? Tripped on nothing?’ A lot of boys were laughing.”
Returning players are going from one Hall of Fame coach in Mack Brown to another in Belichick.
“Belichick has brought some new stuff, a culture that’s new and sort of uplifted and just a mindset that attacks the day every single day,” said defensive back Will Hardy, who played for Brown for three seasons.
“When it’s serious, he’s serious, but there are times when he’ll just crack a joke out of nowhere,” Hardy said. “Just him being kind of monotone sometimes will make those jokes so funny.
“But I’ve loved having one-on-one conversations with him,” Hardy said. “It’s cool to see and meet him personally. You grow up seeing him on TV and everything, and he’s just a completely different coach and guy when you get to be around him all day.”
Hardy said that he’s liked some of the changes Belichick has brought to the program.
“Belichick has brought some new stuff, a culture that’s new and sort of uplifted and just a mindset that attacks the day every single day,” Hardy said. “You’ll get called out in front of the whole team, and you’ve got to just say, ‘Yes, sir!’ right? There’s no hiding in that respect.
“It’s just been great,” Hardy said. “It’s cool. I also love the way he coaches you one-on-one during practice. They’ll pull me off to the side and give me a little tidbit here and there, and it’s cool to see how he knows the full game in every single detail.”
While some of his former teammates have transferred to other schools, Hardy decided to stay after graduating last spring.
“That’s an easy sell to me,” Hardy said. “And then once I got to talk in person, meet some of the coaches that he was going to bring in, it was pretty simple for me to stay here.”
He’s here for the football and the jokes.
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Time, TV | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| September | ||
| 1 (Monday) | 8 p.m., ESPN | vs. TCU |
| 6 | 7 p.m., ESPN+ | at Charlotte |
| 13 | 3:30 p.m., ACCN | vs. Richmond |
| 20 | at Central Florida | |
| October | ||
| 4 | vs. Clemson | |
| 17 (Friday) | 10:30, ESPN | at California |
| 25 | vs. Virginia | |
| 31 (Friday) | 7:30, ESPN | at Syracuse |
| November | ||
| 8 | vs. Stanford | |
| 15 | at Wake Forest | |
| 22 | vs. Duke | |
| 29 | at N.C. State |
tarheeltribune.com 