Belichick’s Second UNC Campaign Must Show Improvement, Stability
By David Glenn
In the early 1990s, Stanford University hired a legendary National Football League head coach with three Super Bowl rings.
That Bill Walsh experiment got off to a fantastic start — a 10-3 campaign and a top-10 national finish in 1992 — but Walsh retired at the end of the 1994 season, at 63 years old, after his next two Cardinal teams stumbled to 4-7 and 3-7-1 records.
At the time, Walsh said the main reason for his retirement was that, as a slowing-down man in his mid-60s, he no longer felt comfortable telling high school recruits and their families that he would be their coach for the next four years.
Meanwhile, Stanford officials insisted that their three-year Walsh experiment was worth it. The university had benefitted from its long-term association with a legendary, well-liked coach (Walsh also had been Stanford’s leader in the late 1970s, before jumping to the NFL), the football team had that one very special season, fan interest had skyrocketed, media exposure had surged, TV ratings were up, and the program’s recruiting had jumped to a higher tier.
One year into its Bill Belichick Era, UNC can’t even imagine a top-10 season, and Tar Heel Nation doesn’t have nearly as many warm and fuzzy feelings.
Belichick’s 50-year coaching career, which has included six Super Bowl titles as a head coach and two more as a defensive coordinator, clearly certifies him — like Walsh — as one of the greatest minds in the sport’s history.
However, Belichick is 74 years old, and his maiden voyage in the college ranks was a disaster. The 2025 Tar Heels finished 4-8, were noncompetitive in four of their losses, and posted some of the worst offensive numbers in major college football.
That means Belichick, who makes more than $10 million per year, desperately needs to show this season that — at a minimum — he has Carolina pointed in the right direction. In January, his buyout will drop from $20 million to $10 million, so a second straight faceplant absolutely would put him squarely on the hot seat, regardless of his stunning lifetime achievements.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick protests a call during the second half of an NCAA college football game against North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (Photo via AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker.)
Although external expectations are extremely low for this year’s Tar Heels (they were picked to finish 15th in the 17-team ACC), there are at least a few indicators that Year Two under Belichick could be different in a positive way.
First, unlike last year, they had plenty of preparation time for purposes of both high school recruiting and the NCAA transfer portal.
“We’re not starting from scratch,” Belichick said. “We have better evaluation of players (than in 2025), and they’re further ahead … and our talent level is higher.”
Second, unlike last year, the Tar Heels had enough returning players who knew their offensive and defensive systems that there were regular player-led workouts between the end of spring drills (late April) and the beginning of preseason practice (late July).
“Overall, as a football team, our culture, our program, our ability to operate as a team, is much higher than it was a year ago,” Belichick said.
Third, unlike last year, UNC’s starting quarterback went through spring practice. Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr., a 23-year-old sixth-year senior who started at Maryland in 2024, has had eight months to gel with his teammates and new coordinator Bobby Petrino. In 2025, UNC starter Gio Lopez (now at Wake Forest) didn’t arrive until the summer, after transferring in from South Alabama, and never meshed with former OC Freddy Kitchens.
“Billy’s more consistent and has more experience (than UNC’s other 2026 QB options),” Belichick said, “and that showed up.”
Given the Tar Heels’ imposing lineup of 2026 opponents — including TCU in Ireland (Sat., noon, ESPN), at Clemson, Notre Dame, at Pitt, Miami, Louisville, even an NC State program that’s beaten them five times in a row and eight of the last 10 — they could actually be an improved football team and still finish 4-8 again.
If Carolina somehow manages to get to a bowl game, the reason probably will be some combination of #1-the Petrino/Edwards duo maximizing the talents of explosive wideout Jordan Shipp, hard-running backs Demon June and Benjamin Hall, and a tight end room overflowing with talented transfers, and #2-a competitive defense led by (see below for details) four returning starters, three accomplished transfers (although two are trying to make the jump from the FCS ranks) and several Power Four transfers who have some NFL-caliber measurables but just couldn’t secure starting roles at their previous schools.
If the Tar Heels fall short of the postseason again, however, there will be maximum scrutiny on the stability and effectiveness of the foundation Belichick has built around himself in Chapel Hill.
There are always going to be provocative off-the-field headlines about Belichick’s young girlfriend, but UNC’s decision-makers would be wise to expend much more energy contemplating unrelated questions that are infinitely more tied to the program’s short-term future.
Is Mike Lombardi, who spent most of the past decade as a sports media member (including on a gambling podcast), really qualified to be a college football general manager? Has he managed the UNC gridiron budget in an intelligent manner? How long will he be on paid administrative leave, a byproduct of human resources-related allegations against him? Are there additional concerns with the College Sports Commission, which governs revenue-sharing and Name-Image-Likeness rules?
Closer to the field, how did Belichick so badly botch his first offensive coordinator hire? (Kitchens, a Mack Brown-era holdover, was very popular with many players but had minimal experience as an OC or play-caller.) Was Petrino, now 65 years old and a complicated character to say the least, really the best solution Belichick could find there? Also, on the other side of the ball, is there any reason for long-term concern about 39-year-old defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, Bill’s son, who recently took an indefinite leave of absence for unspecified medical reasons?
Over the next four months, Belichick will be scrutinized by UNC’s decision-makers in two main areas — his team’s performance on the field, and the health/stability of his program’s foundation. Only if both areas show improvement is he likely to be around, then at 75 years old, for a Year Three in Chapel Hill.
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2026 UNC FOOTBALL SNAPSHOT
Head Coach: Bill Belichick, 2nd season (4-8 overall, 2-6 ACC, six-time Super Bowl champion)
Offensive Coordinator: Bobby Petrino (1st season with Tar Heels, 1st season as Heels’ OC)
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Belichick (2nd season with Tar Heels, 2nd season as Heels’ DC, on indefinite medical leave)
Returning Starters/Offense (2): sophomore RB Demon June, junior WR Jordan Shipp (HM All-ACC)
Returning Starters/Defense (4): fifth-year DE Melkart Abou Jaoude (2nd-team All-ACC), senior CB Kaleb Cost, junior DT Leroy Jackson, junior CB Jaiden Patterson
Returning Starters/Special Teams (2): sophomore RB/KR Jaylen McGill, fifth-year K Rece Verhoff (HM All-ACC)
Most Accomplished Incoming Transfers (5): sixth-year Syracuse LB Derek McDonald (3-year starter), sixth-year Wisconsin QB Billy Edwards Jr. (2024 Maryland starter, 3rd in Big Ten passing yards/game), junior Richmond LB Peyton Seelmann (1st-team All-Patriot), senior Charleston Southern OG Andrew Threatt (1st-team All-OVC/Big South, 3-year starter), fifth-year Richmond DE Donovan Toilette Jr. (1st-team All-Patriot)
Other Intriguing Incoming Transfers (10): senior Florida DE Tarvorise Brown, junior Penn State DE Jaylen Harvey (possible starter), senior Lehigh WR Mason Humphrey (probable starter), senior LSU RB Kaleb Jackson, senior Wisconsin WR Trech Kekahuna, junior Arkansas OT Shaq McRoy (probable starter), senior Ohio State TE Jelani Thurman, junior Colorado State TE Jaxxon Warren, junior Texas TE Jordan Washington, fifth-year Michigan State CB Ade Willie (probable starter)
NFL Draft Departures (0): none
NFL Free Agent Departures (4): CB Marcus Allen (Vikings), OL Austin Blaske (Rams), CB Thaddeus Dixon (Giants), OL Chad Lindberg (Rams)
Key Transfer Portal Departures (5): LB Khmori House (HM All-ACC, team-leading 78 tackles), Arkansas; QB Gio Lopez (starter), Wake Forest; DT CJ Mims (starter), Texas A&M; TE Jake Johnson (starter), Auburn; DE Tyler Thompson (prominent backup), Louisville
David Glenn (DavidGlennShow.com, @DavidGlennShow) is an award-winning author, broadcaster, editor, entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, writer and university lecturer (now at UNC Wilmington) who has covered sports in North Carolina since 1987.
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