Since the start of the 2025 ACC football season, receiver Jordan Shipp said he has felt like everyone was rooting against UNC, because they want to see Bill Belichick fail.
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Some outsiders didn’t like the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach’s dismissive media personality. Others questioned the credibility of Belichick’s legacy without Tom Brady under center. Many wondered if he could succeed at the college level, where recruiting plays a significant role.
As UNC went 4-8, those voices only grew louder. When the program returned only six starters, they cheered.
Shipp, one of the players who stayed in Chapel Hill after last season, said he takes that criticism against Belichick personally. He hasn’t bothered to find out why some people dislike the longtime New England Patriots coach, but he said he knows not to count on their support.
“We know not to expect anything from anybody else,” Shipp said. “We know that Carolina has to protect Carolina, and that’s the mentality that we need to have.”
UNC’s three player representatives at ACC Kickoff fended off several questions about Belichick on Friday, often harping on the aspects of his style they claimed outsiders didn’t recognize.
Defensive lineman Melkart Abou Jaoude, returning to UNC after finishing with a second-in-the-ACC 10.5 sacks last season, said he thinks the criticism of Belichick stems from his accolades.
It doesn’t bother Jaoude, though.
“He loves the game of football,” Jaoude said. “He loves his players, I think (outsiders) know that. They just want to see him lose.”
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Perhaps none of them spoke more glowingly about Belichick than offensive lineman Christo Kelly, however.
Kelly said he fanboyed over Belichick when he and his teammates worked Holy Cross women’s lacrosse games during his undergraduate years. Belichick’s sister, Amanda Belichick, is Holy Cross’ coach, and Bill Belichick would attend some of their matches alone on the sidelines, Kelly said.
While Kelly never mustered the courage to approach Bill Belichick in Worcester, Massachusetts, he said that when he was in the transfer portal, Amanda Belichick got him in the door. When Kelly eventually met Bill Belichick on UNC’s campus, he was ready to sign that day.
Kelly said outsiders don’t recognize Belichick’s humility. He called him the “greatest football coach ever,” and was impressed that Belichick would ask transfer players about their previous schools’ approaches, always looking to improve his own tactics.
Belichick sets a high standard, Kelly said, and demands a strong work ethic from his players. “Everything he does is football,” Kelly added, and he tries to put his players in the best position to grow as football players and people.
“Coach Belichick is our ride or die,” Kelly said. He is our guy, and we ride or die for him. Whatever happens to him happens to us.”
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