Bill Belichick, North Carolina put rocky offseason behind them with win over TCU

North Carolina has positives to build off of, but perhaps most importantly, for one of the few times during his tenure, the Tar Heels weren't the most discombobulated or poorly coached squad.

That dishonor went to TCU, which had 11 penalties for 89 yards, failed to capitalize on two North Carolina turnovers and botched a punt, leading to a safety.

Saturday's win came amid a turbulent offseason for Belichick and the Tar Heels. Earlier this month, general manager Mike Lombardi was placed on administrative leave as the university investigates a human resources complaint.

Lombardi's lawyer, Tom Mars, has blasted the proceedings as a "witch hunt." (h/t The Athletic)

A day before Saturday's game against TCU, ESPN college football reporter David Hale wrote about North Carolina's doom-and-gloom outlook, opening pondering if "the Bill Belichick era [is] already coming to a close" while quoting current and former staff members as describing the culture as "'a circus,' 'a mess' and 'a disaster.'"

At the beginning of August, Belichick announced his son, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, was stepping away from the team while on medical leave. Bill called plays in his place against TCU.

After a rough defensive start — the Horned Frogs averaged 10.4 yards per play in the first quarter and finished the first half with 111 rushing yards — North Carolina turned things around beginning in the third quarter. It shut out TCU over the final two quarters while allowing 121 total yards (3.3 yards per play).

The Tar Heels looked much improved from where they were a season ago. While undeniably a work in progress (then again, which team is fully formed in late August?), the sky might not be falling in Chapel Hill. Perhaps North Carolina finally stopped digging itself a massive hole and is starting to find a way out of it.