Your example of the tarp with Shula is very different from what Belichik did. The tarp created the same disadvantage for both teams. How Miami hired Shula was a violation of the hiring practices in the NFL at the time but it was not cheating to alter the outcome of a game. Patriots did a very similar move with Belichik when they hired him away from the Jets.
Spygate ONLY benefited Belichik's team and it put the other team at a disadvantage.
Deflategate ONLY benefitted Belichik's team and it put the other team at a disadvantage.
Belichik was accused of cheating several other times but was not penalized.
The combined penalties for the two scandals Belichik got caught cheating was:
- 500,000 fine for Belichik
- 250,000 fine for Patriots
- Loss of a FIRST round draft pick
- Brady suspended for four games
- Patriots fined a MILLION dollars
- Patriots lost TWO draft picks ( a first and fourth)
Let's compare that to how may times Don Shula was penalized for cheating
You can make any argument you like about who was the best coach based on wins/losses and Super Bowl appearances and wins, Belichik never had a Perfect Season and he can't carry Shula's water bottle when it comes to character. There is good reason why Belichik was never on the NFL Rules Committee but Shula was. For me character counts a lot, for players and coaches. All things considered, Shula was the best to ever coach in the NFL...
Bad news for the ignorant.
Read the NFL's report on deflate gate. That only cheaters were the refs.
1) It was recorded that there were two different pressure gauges used, and one was known to give lower pressure readings than the other.
2) The refs knowing this, used the lower reading gauge for all the Patriots balls and the higher reading gauge on a small sample of the opponents' balls.
3) The opponents' balls that were tested had all been inside and were warmer i.e. demonstrated more pressure, just like your tires giving lower pressure when cold and higher pressure when warm.
That is simple high school physics that people experience everyday with their cars' tires.
The ref's intentionally "hedged their bet" by using information about the differences in the pressure gauges, selective sampling vs. comprehensive sampling to make the Patriots look bad.
Every one of those ref's should have been fired.
I'm not making this up.
This information was widely available within a week after the game was over.
I am very conflicted about this.
Sometimes we generate our own problems.
Why not see how UNC is doing after 3 years under Belichick?
I suspect that a lot of good players with "headcases" and overstated egos may not choose UNC because of Belichick - or leave after they get a dose of "I'm the boss" from Belichick.
The remaining players will develop more and learn to use their brain more than many of those "flash in the pan" kind of college athletes that more often than not are not successful in the NFL.
The players that Belichick will put on the field will be more disciplined and better team players than the school currently has, and this should result in better play by the UNC football team.
I also suspect the team as a whole will also have a higher GPA and less problems with school officials then most of those "look at me, I'm God's gift to the universe" short timers.
Don't think for a moment that a school with a record like that won't get the most support by the parents of young adults going away to college, football players or not. This is certainly something to consider.
What good is a full scholarship to people who leave school without even graduating - sadly a not uncommon occurrence with athletes going to the NFL.