At the beginning of the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill, North Carolina had several high-profile opportunities to show whether it was ready to compete against high-caliber opponents.
Attitude and effort. Coaches — in all sports, at all levels — like to remind their players that, in a world overflowing with outside influences, unpredictable variables and unexpected adversities, those are the two things that are always in their control. Good parents often remind their children, whether young or older, of the same concepts.
There’s plenty of room for intelligent debate regarding many aspects of legendary National Football League coach Bill Belichick’s ongoing attempt to succeed at the college level, but it’s not too soon to draw at least one conclusion.
One-third of the way through Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina, the Tar Heels have a middling 2-2 record, but a closer look at those four games uncovers more bad news than good.
Neither UNC nor UCF has exhibited dominant line play against a quality opponent this season, so this game likely will be decided by the usual things — big plays, turnovers, high-IQ football, poise under pressure, minimization of mistakes, and old-fashioned execution.
While Bill Belichick’s first season as North Carolina’s football coach already has had its share of circus sideshows, on and off the field, one intriguing aspect of the Tar Heels’ ongoing 2025 campaign relates to a far less provocative detail: the team’s unusual schedule.
In his 511 games as a head coach in the National Football League, Bill Belichick never saw one of his teams give up 48 or more points in a single contest.
When North Carolina and TCU agreed to play a two-game football series almost a decade ago, in 2016, Larry Fedora was the head coach of the Tar Heels and Gary Patterson was the head coach of the Horned Frogs.