The North Carolina Tar Heels finally picked up their first ACC win of the season over the weekend, defeating the Syracuse Orange by a score of 27-10. But somehow, head coach Bill Belichick still cannot escape criticism.

During a recent appearance on NBC Sports Boston, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recalled a near-miss Belichick almost committed during the 2023 NFL Draft, when he was pushing for the New England Patriots to select defensive end Keion White in the first round rather than cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

"I think if it were up to Bill Belichick and Bill Belichick alone, Keion White might have been their first-round pick and not Christian Gonzalez," Breer said. "I think if it were up to Bill, it would have been Keion White. He had to be talked out of that one, and they wound up taking Gonzalez, and it obviously worked out."

The Patriots ultimately selected White in the second round that year. White ended up playing just two-and-a-half seasons in New England before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers last week. He registered 56 tackles and five sacks in 2024 but has amassed just six sacks in total.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez has already established himself as one of the best young cornerbacks in the league. He was limited to just four games during his rookie campaign due to a shoulder injury, but he responded by earning a Second-Team All-Pro selection last season.

The 23-year-old has not been quite as dominant this year, but he has still been very good for a Pats team that is now 7-2.

It just goes to show that Belichick — who is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in NFL history — was never infallible. In fact, Belichick's draft record over his final few years with the Patriots was not very good, so perhaps we should not be overly surprised that he is struggling to adjust during his debut campaign at Chapel Hill.

North Carolina is just 3-5 in Belichick's first season and has three blowout losses on its resume. To be fair, though, the Tar Heels have played considerably better over their last three contests and still have a chance of qualifying for a bowl game.

And as I keep saying, we probably should give Belichick some grace accounting for the fact that he has never coached on the collegiate level before.

North Carolina will face Stanford this Saturday.