UNC football fans should show patience with Larry Fedora
The UNC football season is in a tailspin, and fans are calling for the head of Larry Fedora. Here’s why they should take a page from Aaron Rodgers’ book, and r-e-l-a-x.
The UNC football team was just boat-raced by the No. 14 Virginia Tech Hokies in an embarrassing 59-7 loss. The Heels now sit at at 1-7 and 0-5 in ACC play, and have likely been eliminated from any bowl game consideration.
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Despite North Carolina still having the reputation of a “basketball school” fans were becoming accustomed to a little gridiron success, and are now frothing at the sudden downturn by the Tar Heels.
The man at the apex of their growing pyramid of anger? Head coach Larry Fedora.
Although it seems a justified reaction, UNC fans should beware the quick trigger and show a little more patience with their head coach.
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This season is a disaster, and can’t be put back on the rails, so it’s best for fans to just ride out the wave of pain for the rest of the season and start looking toward the future.
Prior to Fedora arriving in 2012, the North Carolina football program and former head coach Butch Davis had been investigated for possible rules violations concerning improper gifts to players and contact with agents. Eventually the program had 16 wins vacated, and was given a postseason ban for 2012, reductions of 15 scholarships, and 3 years of probation.
In short, Larry Fedora walked into a hot mess and made the best of it.
The school’s athletic department just recently dodged a huge bullet in the wake of more NCAA investigations regarding academic fraud, and has been under fire from the media and fans for seemingly skating on some pretty serious charges.
The last thing the UNC trustees want to do is to bring more attention to any of their big athletic teams. Fedora has run a very clean program and, 2017’s thus-far debacle aside, had his teams perform extremely well on the field.
One poor season does not make a poor coach. The Tar Heels lost six starters to the NFL Draft this season, as well as six other impact players to graduation or declaration for the draft, including starting quarterback (and No. 2 overall pick) Mitch Trubisky.
With a few notable exceptions, college football programs are destined to have peaks and valleys, When teams who aren’t accustomed to success finally find themselves in a winning mode, their recruiting efforts don’t have time to catch up with the success on the field.
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Fedora has a track record of keeping programs winning, and 2017 will only be the second overall losing season in his 10-year history as a head coach. Swallow the bitter pill, Tar Heel fans, and give your coach a chance to restock this roster and bring the team back to being a winner.