Carolina To Make Football Coaching Change For 2007 :: John Bunting will continue to coach the Tar Heels for the rest of this season.

Announced tonight by Baddour and Bunting.

I wanted a coaching change, but I can't say I feel great about it right now. John Bunting is a good guy who, like me, loves his alma mater. He just couldn't get it done on the field.

Coach, you gave us two of the greatest wins in Carolina football history. It wasn't always pretty, but it was clear you loved this University. Good luck.

Extra Points: A Long Night In Charlottesville :: Lee Pace on Thursday's loss at Virginia.

If you haven't read the above-linked article, do check it out. As you probably know, Lee Pace is the on-the-field analyst for the Tar Heel Sports Network. He's a writer for the school's official web site. He literally 'wrote the book' on John Bunting at Carolina. And now he's saying things like this:

The dislocations all around Bunting's program are staggering as the Tar Heels lurch into the second half of the season with a 1-6 record.

How does a coach with a reputation cast in granite over a playing and coaching career of discipline and focus continue to have issues like Garrett White making an inappropriate gesture to the Virginia fans, just one day after Bunting pointedly directed the Tar Heels to not be affected by the crowd? Bunting chewed out the sophomore linebacker after the pre-game incident and banished him to the sideline in street clothes, later saying the behavior was "unbecoming of any young person, certainly of this football program and this great university."

How does a coach who is forever talking about teamwork have a player like receiver Jesse Holley who stomps his feet and flails his arms after Dailey throws the ball elsewhere on one play in the third quarter and then drops a pass thrown to him on the very next snap?

Something's brewing folks, because Pace is usually right in line with Bunting and the University. Finally, it appears, he's had enough of having to pretend that there is a foundation being built. That foundation is crumbling.

Eddy Landreth of CarolinaBlue says a buyout is on the way for Bunting. Very interesting. Landreth says the decision on the next coach is above Dick Baddour and the chancellor. Still, I feel like this hire, moreso than even the Roy Williams hire, will ultimately be what defines Baddour's tenure as AD at Carolina.

Funny that yesterday WCHL 1360 was reporting that Bunting would resign soon at this page. They've changed the story now, and they've also changed the picture on their site.  The picture they currently have is located at http://www.wchl1360.com/images/bunting.jpg

The original picture that ran with their original story is now at http://www.wchl1360.com/images/bunting2.jpg

Where did they get the 'bunting2' picture? Why, HeelsBlog.Com! Thanks for noticing!

I took that picture myself in May 2005 at the Tar Heel Tour stop in Cary.

WCHL is the original and flagship station of the Tar Heel Sports Network. A fixture of news and talk radio in Chapel Hill. And they don't have a picture of John Bunting on file? Let's be honest: I'm not making any money off of HeelsBlog. I don't do this for a living; in fact I lose money on the site every month. I do it for love. But please, if you are the webmaster or whomever is responsible at WCHL, can't you just do your job, and not have to have me do it for you?

I emailed the station manager (very politely, if I do say so) and the picture came down not long after, but the whole thing is laughable. And they still have the picture on their server.

College program 'ownership' seems to be touchy subject

The link above goes to a story in the Rocky Mount Telegram. Hugh Kellenberger interviewed me the other day (a day before the Virginia game) to talk about what I as a Ram's Club member and Tar Heel fan expect out of the football program. I think he did a pretty good job summarizing how I feel.

I'm not married yet, by the way, and with this quote,

"I contribute a little bit of money every year and I go and support the players," Walston said. "But with the efforts that we've seen and the lethargy, I can't do it anymore,"

I was actually referring to not attending the Old Well Walk lately. Why should I get to a noon game at 9:45 to see a bunch of uninspired players stroll through campus.

Overall, I got a good kick out of the whole thing. I still can't believe he printed my M&Ms and Goldfish quote.

There's three minutes left in the game at Virginia, but I think I can go ahead with this post.

North Carolina would owe nearly $2 million if the current coaching staff were let go. I think that is the sticking point here. John Bunting received a contract extension at the end of 2004, when the team finished 6-6 after a loss in the Continental Tire Bowl. We rewarded mediocrity, and we are being rewarded now with crap. This team is the worst in Division I college football, and is worse than some Division I-AA teams. Probably most.

I don't think it's Xs and Os with Bunting, although I've hated a lot of the play calling this year. I think Bunting and this staff have lost the ability to motivate this team. We've got some good players. We do not, however, have a good team. It's painful to watch. It's embarassing for ESPN announcers to laugh at our team, which Fowler and Herbstreit have done tonight. This is my alma mater, a school that I have given my money, heart and soul. It's pitiful.

I am not going to any more Carolina football games this year. The money is gone, but I don't have to subject myself to any more embarassment. I am thoroughly disgusted by the performance of this football team, and I'm through investing in this program until a change is made.

Unfortunately, I forgot to post this before the South Florida game. You all saw it. This team has quit, so I have quit blogging about them. But Ted gave me a nice writeup about what this team ought to do. They're not doing it, obviously, but it's a nice summary of some things that should be happening.

Cam Sexton has shown that he has the physical skills and savvy to succeed at the college level. However, he cannot lead drives on his own and has yet to receive much support from the rest of his offense. Although Sexton is quite agile in the pocket, the offensive line has offered him little or no protection leading to sacks and lost yardage. To compound the problem, the wide receivers have maintained their inconsistency from a year ago and continue to drop balls at crucial points in drives.

Against Miami, the Tar Heels used a single-back offense almost exclusively. Having three or four receivers spread out on the field gave Sexton many more options in the passing game. Using the shotgun for the majority of the game should have given him more time in the pocket but as previously mentioned, the protection broke down too often. The blocking scheme seemed to have more success adding a tight end to the line in place of a fourth receiver. Besides serving as an extra blocker, Jon Hamlett also gave Sexton a good passing option when the pocket did break down.

In order to take some pressure off Cam Sexton and his receivers, the running game desperately needs to find a spark. No team can expect to win, or move the ball consistently for that matter, when they total only 58-yards rushing.  Critics are quick to blame the offensive line for the shortcomings although part of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the halfbacks. Many people highlight the fact that Ronnie McGill was highly ranked on Mel Kiper’s list of senior halfbacks and therefore assume that he is an NFL-caliber back. However, they fail to realize that the majority of NFL-ready backs leave school after their junior years, severely watering-down the senior talent pool. If players like Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Laurence Maroney, and others had returned for their senior seasons, McGill wouldn’t be rated nearly as high. McGill proved that he can have success breaking tackles once he gets into the open field; however, he has struggled to find holes quickly enough in the new blocking scheme.

The lack of rushing success led the coaches to all but abandon the I-form on Saturday in favor of single-back looks. Barrington Edwards seemed to grasp the new scheme well, getting good acceleration before the handoff and slicing through the line. Yet, he was never able to break a run over four yards. The staff seems reluctant to try other options at the position, but Richie Rich did see some action on Saturday. Rich is a smaller, shiftier, back that can also catch passes from the backfield, giving the offense another dimension. The staff needs to give him more playing time earlier in the game as he has the potential to break a big run after a screen pass.  

Another aspect of the offense that has been underutilized is Jesse Holley’s ability to make defenders miss after the catch. Holley is a very fluid runner and has shown in the past that he can break multiple tackles to gain extra yardage. The staff needs to look to him more across the middle with a few short passes each game that have the potential to turn into big gains.

With the injury to Hakeem Nicks, someone will need to step in against South Florida and take over the role of Cam Sexton’s most reliable target. Holley will probably benefit the most as he is expected to shift into Nicks’s spot. However, Kenton Thornton and Dirk Engram will also get a chance to step on the field and see what they can accomplish.

Hey - at least it's not a loss.

I always enjoyed reading Woody Durham's thoughts on the old GoHeels.com site. Here, he rounds up the preseason takes on the basketball Tar Heels.


Woody's Word: UNC Hoops Highly Rated