PTI - Is Bill Belichick and UNC's Relationship in Jeopardy?

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss National League playoffs, next steps for the Jays & Yankees and the drama of UNC's coaching situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon on assignment tonight in Chicago. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Does that assignment involve box seats or a luxury suite?

Just asking. Great seats, Tony, great seats, but I'm outside. I'm outdoors, and it's going to be a game top. First pitch temperature of like 57 with some wins. That's terrible. No, you shouldn't even go. No, no, don't even go. If you can't get indoors in a suite.

Do they know who you are? I'm happy to be where I am. Come on now. Happy to be where I am. I'm happy to be where I am. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls. In today's episode, the Yankees are out. Bill Belichick is not.

And Booger McFarlane joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with the two National League teams that avoided elimination last night, the Phillies and your Cubs. The Phillies got two bombs from Kyle Swarber on their way to a route of the Dodgers, 8 to 2, and your Cubs, got all four of their runs in the bottom of the first.

and then held on for dear life to narrowly beat Milwaukee 4 to 3. Wilbon, what do you make of how they did it and which team do you think is more likely to win again tonight? Tony, you know, I love seeing it. Even if I wasn't letting those skin all in on one of these games, the one here at Wrigley Field tonight, 808 Eastern, I want to see five games. I want to see them go for drama. And I really want to see the Cubs make Milwaukee go back and be the best team in baseball.

They've been the best team in baseball. They were certainly that when they were, you know, 36 and 12 or whatever they were for a while there. Make them be the best team in baseball by winning today. I just don't know if the Cubs are scoring their fronts. Matthew Boyd is going again this time on regular rest. That bodes better, if not well, for the Cubbies. Look, if Philadelphia can hit the baseball and we know Schwabertone,

that home run only ever, I think, Willie Stardial. I mean, the first one, oh my God, that... Eight thousand feet. That can be... It can threaten the opposition. I know professional athletes will say they're not intimidated. BS. They can be intimidated.

And Schwabler is capable. Now, I think the Dodgers will bounce back. But I think both or either of these series, it wouldn't be... It wouldn't surprise me to see either one go to five. And I don't think it would surprise you either. Well, I mean, my first inclination here is to say that neither of these teams... has a good chance, but on reflection, looking at what Schwabber did last night, looking at the explosion of the Philadelphia Bats last night, and as you know, I respect that team a lot.

So I would lean a little bit to the Phillies. They have a starting pitcher tonight, who I think is a really good, Chris Sanchez is out there tonight, and let me get his numbers 13 and 5 this year with a 2.50 ERA. Now, Glasnow is going for the Dodgers. He's been heard for much of the year, and his postseason numbers are terrible, Mike. 551 ERA and 2 and 6 record. And then it's possible that the top of the Phillies order comes out of this deep sleep that they were in. When they were 2 for 21, the first two games,

because you had Schwabre with two home runs. You had Trey Turner, I think he had three hits and drove into. It was 7 for 13. And Bryce Harper had two hits and a wall. Yeah. Two hits and a walk. They are probably as good as the top of the Dodgers order, when they're, you know, all things being equal with Otani and Betts and Freeman.

So I kind of sort of think they have a chance. I just want to mention one thing quickly. I got very excited when I found out that Clayton Kershaw was going to pitch last night, work in the bullpen. I had no idea it would be that terrible. No idea that these five runs, four earned, three walks, they should have turned that around. Kershaw should be starting tonight not coming out of the bullpen last night, to me.

Mike, I don't know if we're ever going to see him again. I don't know now if we're ever going to see him again. That was a bad inning. That was a bad inning. Well, the playoffs, these playoffs are going to move on without the Yankees, too. The Blue Jays eliminated the Yanks in last night's game four. As New York starter, Cam Schlittler could not replicate the dominance he showed against the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series.

Tom, where does that outcome put each of these teams? Well, it puts Toronto in the ALCS, and I'll get to them in a second. I want to start with the Yankees, and I want to talk about the notion that people want to fire Aaron Boone because his playoff record at the moment is 25 and 27. Aaron Boone started managing that team in 2018,

and since he's been there, they have the third most wins in baseball, right? I mean, my feeling is that Aaron Boone knows what he's doing. They got 94 wins this year, which is the same as Toronto. They get into the playoffs without their best pitcher,

Garrett Cole, throwing one pitch all year. They lose a side young guy. They make the playoffs with 94 wins, right? And then they beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. I know it's a disappointment that they did not beat Toronto. But I think 95% of Yankees fans, given the choice, would take 20 losses to Toronto to beat the Red Sox once. They had a chance last night. They left 10 people on.

The sixth inning, the seventh inning, the eighth inning, the eighth inning, the eighth inning, they had runners in scoring position. They only one brought one in. I don't blame Aaron Boone for that. Me, I don't blame him for that. Tony, I'm with you. right down the line. This is not 1927, where Ruth and Garrig get to play a regular season and advance straight to the World Series. Baseball decided to add nine layers of playoffs, and you're not going to win every year when you're playing teams that have the same or close

to the same resources as you. They were in the World Series last year, where they played a team with every bit of the resources to Dodgers, and they didn't win. Toronto is. is a big market, rich team with star players, Vlad Guerrero. Yep. Come on now. The Dodgers aren't some homecoming opponent. People are idiots. Get rid of Aaron Boone to bring in who, who's going to do what differently.

That's silly. Let me just make this point. I saw three different friends of mine today who said to me with glee, they were happy the Yankees were out. Because the Yankees spend so much money in Toronto does. And I said, do not confuse Toronto with Tampa Bay. Okay? That's right. The Yankees are the third payroll, and Toronto is the fifth payroll.

This is not the rich against the poor. It is not. Let's move to college football and the sound of one shoe dropping for Bill Belichick. North Carolina and Belichick last night released a joint statement pledging mutual commitment to the Carolina football program. And then the Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham said Belichick had, quote, the full support of the school. The team is two and three, and there was talk bubbling up that Belichie.

might be bought out. Wilbon, what does this statement of mutual commitment say to you? It doesn't say anything to me. I don't know what it means. People put out statements now. Then a week later, somebody's going to social media. It's all just, you know, I'm going to go to one of my favorite words. It's all junk. I just don't know what it is Bill Belichick wants to do. We're rarely let inside his real thoughts. Like, is he embarrassed by this? Is this catching him totally by surprise. There were college football observers, close observers,

who thought this was going to be a failed experiment anyway, and so far it looks like they're right. Would Belichick walk away after a year? Suppose they turn it around and win four straight games at the end of the season and they get going.

Can he build a program? Or is NIL a transfer portal and two million dollar freshman quarterbacks is that all beyond Bill Belichick? I don't know what it means. Tony, I'm fascinated. I refuse to so far assign it meaning. So last night I thought a lot about this

because I was texting back and forth with a friend of mine who knows, he's very conversant with the college scene in the state of North Carolina. And he said he had heard they were coming for him. The sharks were coming for him. Get rid of him right now. And I wrote back and I said, if that were to happen, I think it would be awful.

I think it would be a terrible stain on Bill Belichick's career. I think it would bleed into everything he had done in the NFL if that were to happen right now. And I said, and I think that that would be unfair. And I pointed out, I'm not a fan of Belichick's personally. You know, I'm not. But he and North Carolina got into this together. They ought to get out of this together. I don't think you just dump the guy right away like this.

And I had also, I had previously talked to someone who really knew the North Carolina team well. And he said after they lost the TCU, he said, don't expect anything this year. They don't have any talent. You cannot judge Belichick for two years. And that was what people said about Dion going to Colorado. You just cannot make an immediate judgment. You can't do it. But Belichick's behavior, to be fair, recently has been, and I'm being charitable here, odd. It's been a little bit odd, right? I mean, you know, the stuff with craft and the Patriots and, you know, and saying they're the 33rd NFL team. Come on, you're getting crushed? Here's the scores, 120 to 33 in the three power four groups. I was going to say power five, but the Pack 12 doesn't

exist. Let's take a break. Coming up, why is the Ravens defense struggling so much? We're going to ask Booger McFarland. We'll also ask whether number one Ohio state. We'll also ask whether number one Ohio or number three, Oregon, is either vulnerable this weekend, either both. Tony, North Carolina didn't know Jack about football relative to basketball. That's not their sport. You are watching, part in the interruption, presented by Twisted Tea, hard ice tea, part of Happy Hour. Week six of the NFL kicks off tonight, which makes it a perfect time for a visit from our great friend ESPN NFL and college football analyst. McFarlane wearing a golf shirt from Garden City Golf Club, my boyhood home of Long Island.

Let's start with this. Tonight's game, Thursday night game, Eagles and Giants. What will you be watching for in this game, Booger? First thing I'm going to look at, I'm going to see what book A.J. Brown is going to be reading. The second thing, I'm going to see what kind of glasses Big Dom has on. And then thirdly, how many times do they hand the football to Saquan Barclay? Like, that's got to be the question de jure. Understand this.

The Philadelphia Eagles are running football team. And for Sequin Barclay to carry the ball so few times last week, I think there has to be an answer for that. I think there was an overcorrection last week getting the football to the wide receivers. So this week, I think there's going to be an overcorrection, getting back to doing what they normally do. And that's running the football with Saquan Barclay, running the ball with Jalen Hertz. Let's see if we can get Jalen Carter a sack because he's been a disappointment so far. I want to see this team play a complete football game because if they don't, the New York football Giants have a defensive line led by Abdul Carter, Kvon, Tibido, sexy, Dexie Lawrence.

They can get after the Eagles up front if they don't play. And this game could be a fourth quarter game when I really think nobody across America thinks it's going to be. Let's talk about a team you had pegged early on, Booker, the one in four Baltimore Ravens are playing host to the Rams this week. Their defense has been dreadful. You were on this week one. Are you surprised is this bad,

even though you start coming, and what in the world can they do to change it? Yeah, I'm surprised it's this bad. Like, John Harbaugh is a really good coach. I love Zach Orr, the defensive coordinator. I know what they're trying to do. But somewhere between the practice field and the game field, it's not getting done. And they try to go out and they try to fix it. They sign Jaya Alexander, you know, to kind of cover up the back end.

But their past defense is the one that's really struggling. I just know this. I know there's a sign in that building. It says, play like a raven. and that sign has been there for a long time. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, all the guys that have come through there, play like a raven.

Right now, I think it's a mentality because they're not playing like a raven. Like sometimes you can throw the X's and O's out the window. Hey, guys, I'm going to roll the ball out there. We've got to roll our sleeves up and we've got to go fight. I want to see some fight in this team because if they don't fight, they're going to be one in five. And as our buddy John King on CNN says,

hey, the math is not going to add up. Because at some point, if you're one and five, that's six games. You only got 11 left. And if the math don't add up for you getting into the postseason, then I'm afraid it may be late very, very early for this team. Look, let's move to college football because I am completely as a son of the Midwest fired up for a couple of games this week, number seven, Indiana, out at number three,

Oregon, and, of course, number one, Ohio State. At number 17, Illinois, two huge Big Ten games. do you have Indiana or Illinois or both really being ready to score an upset Saturday afternoon? Well, definitely not Illinois. The last time we saw them in a big game, Indiana hung 63 on them. They probably could have put 80. But when it comes to Indiana, we know how we talk about Kirk Signetti. Hey, if you don't know who he is, as we always say, just Googling.

He's got this quarterback named Fernando Mendoza. I think he's the best quarterback in America right now. And if the draft were to happen today and the team at the top needed a quarterback, he'd be the number one pick in the draft. And so anytime you take a quarterback like that on the road to Austin Stadium, you get an opportunity. And so for Indiana, I think there's a lot of stake.

I think they can't compete. Because the last couple of times we've seen them, Mike, on a big stage, think about this. We saw him against Ohio State last year. The game was not as close as the score was. We saw them against Notre Dame in the playoff. They didn't really match up. So this is the third time on a national stage.

we get to see Curti Signetti in Indiana see if they can compete with the big boys. I think they hang for a little while. I just don't know if they can pull the upset because I think Oregon is that physical and that fast. But I tell you what, I'm sure going to have fun watching this team because I know they're going to fight

for the head coach because he demands that. We will get you out of here on this and we will stay with college football. And the SEC, now eighth-ranked Alabama, is at unbeaten in 14th-ranked Missouri, which at least has a great journalism, program. Which way are you leaning in this one? Well, if we were talking about journalism, I'd probably lean Northwestern over

Missouri, but that's a different conversation for me and Wilma. As far as it pertains, as far as it pertains to this game, here's what I'll say. I don't really know what to expect out of Missouri. Like I don't think, like Missouri really hasn't really been tested and drugging the deep end of the pool. They played South Carolina, but I don't know if I'd put them up there with the upper echelon, but I do know this. They're undefeated. And that gives them confidence going against Alabama. And they got the best running back in Hardy in the SEC.

They got this quarterback named Bo Perbula, Penn State Transfer. He's a dual-threat quarterback. And I know this. Eli Drequist is a very good coach. But it's amazing what's happened since week one. Everybody, everybody in their mother put dirt on Alabama after they lost to Tallahassee. All they've done is come back beat Georgia. They've come back.

They've beaten Vanderbilt. And I think right now, Ty Simpson is playing as good as he's played his entire career. And so here's the thing about this game. know guys, think about this. It's an 11 a.m. start. Not noon, but 11 a.m. So imagine eating bacon and eggs for a pregame meal. That's a little different.

Trust me. From the South, that's not usually what we eat for pregame meal. We're on steak and spaghetti, trying to carve up a little bit. Follow me here, Tony. So when you're trying to play a football game at 11 a.m. off bacon and eggs, and you're not used to it because Missouri is used to this.

I'm just saying tricky things happening come home. I think this game is going to be closer than the experts think. as Lee Corso would say, but I do like Alabama pulling it out at the very end. Buger, as always, it's a great pleasure. Thank you so much.

That's great. Thanks, Bougar. Appreciate it. Anytime, fellas. We will take one last break still to come. The Tigers Force game five in their division series

against the Mariners. And Janus sort of kind of commits to Milwaukee kind of maybe a little bit. He's human, you know? Tony, don't ever compare Missouri to McDill. Don't ever do that.

Don't do that. They're fine. They're great. I said they had a great program. You know, I didn't. I didn't even mention Northwestern. Bougar mentioned Northwestern. I would have mentioned.

Pardon the interruption is presented by the refreshing taste of twisted tea, hard ice tea. Please drink responsibly. Part of Happy Hour. Happy time, people. Happy 25th birthday, Pentee Soel. The 6-5-331-pound offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions has been first-team all-pro the last two seasons. In April of 2024, Sewell signed a four-year, $112 million deal to stay in Detroit. Penny's brothers, Nephi and Noah are in the NFL.

Nephi is in New Orleans, Noah in Chicago. Penny Sewell won the Outland Trophy in 2019 at Oregon, and two years later was a seventh overall pick in the draft. Curiously, the Cincinnati Bengals had the fifth pick in that draft. They took Jamar Chase, Joe Burroughs teammate at LSU. The Lions snapped up Sewell at seven. Since then, the Lions have thrived, and the Bengals cannot keep Burrow upright. Tony, Noah, he can't have the impact of his brother. But Noah Sewell has started three games to the Bears, got in there initially because of injury.

He's played pretty darn well. So I hope he keeps, you know, trying to keep up with Big Bra. That would be good. Happy anniversary, Chris Burke. On this day, 20 years ago, the Astros rookie hit a game-winning home run with one out in the bottom of the 18th inning and Houston advanced to the NLCS for the second straight year with a 7-6 victory over Atlanta in the longest game in postseason history by innings and by time. Since then, there have been three games that have taken longer than the Astros Braves' 5-hour-50-minute marathon.

The 2018 World Series saw the Dodgers beat the Red Sox 3-2 in the United States. In seven hours, 20 minutes. In 2014, the Giants beat the Nationals 2 to 1 in 6 hours, 23 minutes. And in 2022, the longest 1-0 game in MLB history took place when the Mariners beat the Astros in 6 hours, 22 minutes. Pitch clock, anyone? Remember when broadcasters used to describe a game as a snappy two hours and 10 minutes? That's what I'm counting on the night with the temperature in the 50s

and a breeze off the lake at Wrigley. 205-2-1 Cubs final. That'd be fine. I'd be back on the L. Somebody get this man a sweet for tonight, please. Happy trails last night's game for the Mariners. Seattle took a 3-0 lead in last night's game four on Cal Raleigh's run-scoring single in the fifth

before the Tigers roared back. Detroit scored nine straight runs, seven across the fifth and sixth innings, en route to a nine-three win. Your boy, Harvey Baez, did much of the damage. Tallying a fifth-ending RBI single, followed by a two-run shot in the sixth and the final insurance RBI in the eighth.

The winner take-all game five is Friday in Seattle. Tigers ace Tarik Scobulll will face Seattle's George Kirby. You're going with Scoobel, right? Neither one of us is going against Scoobel at this point. No, we're not. One omission quickly, LeBron will miss the start of the season due to Sciatica. Did you know we had that?

Do you know? Let's go to the big finish. The Las Vegas Aceseces beat the Phoenix Mercury last night. Phoenix Mercury last night to go up 3-0 in the WNBA finals. It's all over, isn't it? Sobelie is out with his head injury, and that's awful. And Asia Wilson was great with that shot from her favorite spot. It just, you know, it doesn't look good in the bottom part of the desert.

Dry-sidal, Leon gets us 400th last night in his shootout loss to the flames. You were impressed with that? I'm impressed with him and McDavid. Yanna says he's committed to the box, but also said it would be, quote, human to change his mind in the future degree. I got him going by the trade deadline, Tom. NBA.com survey, 80% of the GMs pick the thunder to repeat. Are you with them?

I'm not. Last one, our friend Eric Spolster will succeed our friend Steve Kerr is the new head coach of USA basketball. Good choice, right? You know, great choice. I know we both feel great choice. Really? We're out of time. We'll try to do better than next time.

I'm Tony Cornynheimer. I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckle hits. 80% go over. with OkC. I picked OkC last year, but I don't think I'm picking them this year.