ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky has had enough. The constant pile-on against Bill Belichick's college coaching tenure? He's not having it.
On Tuesday's First Take, Paul Finebaum delivered a scathing prediction: Belichick won't survive his second season at North Carolina. Citing "mass chaos" in Chapel Hill, Finebaum didn't mince words, calling Belichick a "grouch" and a "bully" and predicting the Tar Heels' trip to Ireland ends in defeat—and Belichick's tenure ends before the season does.
But Orlovsky, appearing on Thursday's Get Up, pushed back hard. "Can everyone pump the brakes on trying to dunk on Coach Belichick?" he said. "We're talking about one of the greatest football coaches of all time."
Orlovsky pointed to the offseason distractions that have largely vanished compared to last year. The girlfriend saga and its accompanying noise? Gone. He also highlighted the fundamental issues that plagued UNC in 2025—tackling, effort, blocking through the whistle—and argued that a coach of Belichick's caliber is exactly the person to fix them.
"Everybody that talks about Bobby Petrino raves about him as an offensive mind. We don't think that those two guys are going to make it a little bit better?" Orlovsky asked, referencing Belichick's offensive coordinator hire. "I think the greatest coach of all time is going to fix a lot of stuff."
Belichick's first year in Chapel Hill was rough: a 4-8 record and an offense that averaged just 19.2 points per game. But the six-time Super Bowl champion remains confident. "Overall as a football team, our culture, our program, our ability to operate as a team is much higher than it was a year ago, and our talent level is higher," he told ESPN in July.
The Tar Heels face TCU on Saturday at noon ET. A win would go a long way toward silencing the doubters—and giving Orlovsky more ammunition in his defense of the legendary coach.
Belichick has also been active in the transfer market, scouring for late additions to bolster the roster. Whether that's enough to turn things around remains to be seen, but Orlovsky is betting on the coach's track record.
As the criticism mounts, one thing is clear: Belichick's biggest defenders aren't just in New England—they're on ESPN's morning shows, too.
