Bill Belichick's legacy is safe, but he's fighting for reputation at UNC

With six Super Bowl championships to his name with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick's reputation as one of the NFL's all-time greatest coaches is secure. Championships are forever, and nobody is taking them away. But even with that legacy secured, Belichick is fighting for something else as he begins his tenure as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina: his reputation. 

Things did not get off to a great start with Monday's 48-14 debut loss to TCU. 

Reputation is different than legacy, and that can't be ignored here. 

Legacy is about the impact left behind and tangible accomplishments. In sports, it's about trophies, awards and honors. Belichick has all of them.

Reputation, on the other hand, is what people think about you and your accomplishments, and the way you achieved those results and the way built that legacy.

That is what Belichick is in danger of losing depending on the way this North Carolina experience goes.

The biggest issue that Belichick is going to be facing for himself is that the further he gets away from the Tom Brady era in New England, and the more he struggles to find success without Brady as his quarterback, the more it is going to appear that his legacy was simply propped up by having the greatest quarterback — and arguably the greatest football player — to ever suit up on his sidelines.

If you look at the full seasons Belichick has coached without Brady as his quarterback, the records paint a grim picture.

In Cleveland, he went 6-10, 7-9, 7-9, 11-5 and 5-11 for a combined record of 36-44. 

In his first season in New England before Brady took over (the 2000 season), he went 5-11.

During the 2008 season when Brady was sidelined for the entire campaign, he went 11-5 with Matt Cassell as his quarterback. 

In the years after Brady left New England, he went 7-9, 10-7, 8-9 and 4-13.

That is only three winning seasons in 11 full years, an 81-98 record, only two playoff appearances and only one postseason win (in 1994 with the Browns). 

Brady, meanwhile, left Belichick and won another Super Bowl for himself in Tampa Bay. 

Granted, Belichick's defenses were consistently good, and there are far more elements to a team than just the quarterback, but the quarterback is obviously the game-changing position. Especially one as legendary as Brady. 

But when you take that element away from Belichick-coached teams, they suddenly lose all of their ability to contend and compete. 

Now he is taking on a new endeavor at North Carolina where he has to try to build up a college football program. He is also dealing with the reality that has seen him become a punchline in the eyes of sports fans due to his personal relationship. If he combines that with a failed coaching tenure and continues to struggle to build a winning program without a top-tier quarterback, people are going to rightfully have questions about him. 

At this point, it is still very early at North Carolina, and he is dealing with a team that has 70 new players on it. He also still has some winnable games ahead this season against Charlotte, Richmond, UCF and a significant portion of the ACC schedule. There should be at least six or seven wins somewhere in there.

But if he fails to reach that level — and he continues to be a national punchline — his reputation is going to take a massive hit in the eyes of football fans. That is what is at stake for him at UNC. He has to show he can win something, somewhere, without Brady. He's never done that as a head coach to this point in his career.