Tag: UNC Tar Heels

Will Steve Belichick be on Bill Belichick’s UNC football staff?

Is Bill Belichick going to bring his son, Steve Belichick, to Chapel Hill?

When the rumors started swirling around the possibility of UNC football bringing the former six-time Super Bowl-winning NFL coach, Bill Belichick, on as the team’s next head coach, the necessity of having his son, Steve Belichick, became a headline.

The most popular rumor that hasn’t been proven true as of yet was that he negotiated for his son to be the “head coach in waiting” when Bill decided to leave Chapel Hill.

Regardless of whether that is true or not, Steve Belichick is still a reputable NCAA coach as he has held down the Washington defensive coordinator role for the last year. It would not be unprecedented or unrealistic for Steve to become the new DC at North Carolina.

He went to Washington after serving as the safeties, defensive backs, and linebackers coach over the last seven years with the New England Patriots.

Washington allowed 24.6 points per game and 331.4 yards per game this season ranking No. 26 in college football defensive efficiency.

They averaged 1.3 turnovers created per game almost with just five penalties per game, something the UNC struggled with mightily this year.

Steve Belichick would be a welcomed addition to the Chapel Hill coaching staff if Bill Belichick decided to bring him along. He would be a fresh face leading the defense and could revamp and build upon what Geoff Collins did this season for the team.

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When is Bill Belichick’s first game? Here’s UNC football’s 2025 schedule

Looking ahead to the 2025 season. When and against who is Bill Belichick’s first college game?

The hype surrounding North Carolina is real. The NIL money has skyrocketed. The transfer portal has opened. Bill Belichick is the new head coach of the Tar Heels.

It doesn’t get much better for Tar Heels fans than that. Looking ahead to next season, Belichick will open up his season battling against Sonny Dykes and TCU in a home game at Kenan Stadium.

After that, he will head on the road to Charlotte, come back home against Richmond, and head back down to Florida for a battle at Central Florida.

For the first time next season, UNC football will travel out west as it plays at California and back on the east coast at NC State before beginning a huge home stretch where Belichick will face Dabo Sweeney amongst rival Duke in his first rivalry game, Stanford, and Virginia.

He will end his first conference run with two away games at Syracuse and Wake Forest. The future is bright for North Carolina football, and the offseason will only boost the hype surrounding next season.

Saturday, August 30 – vs TCU

Saturday, September 6 – at Charlotte

Saturday, September 13 – vs Richmond

Saturday, September 20 – at UCF

TBA – at California

TBA – at NC State

TBA – vs Clemson

TBA – vs Duke

TBA – vs Stanford

TBA – vs Virginia

TBA – at Syracuse

TBA – at Wake Forest

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UNC football drastically increasing NIL program for new coach

North Carolina launched its NIL program for football into the moon to land Bill Belichick.

The landscape of NCAA football has changed dramatically since the times of the previous decade. With the implementation of the immediate transfer portal and NIL valuation, college athletes all over the country are being “bought.”

As a result, universities that are not organizing their budgets and fundraising in a way to gain NIL money are lagging in the recruits and transfers that they are able to bring onto their campus and subsequently compete.

UNC football has previously had a budget of $4 million to spend on NIL towards its football players. However, with the recent firing of Mack Brown and their endeavors to hire former NFL superstar coach Bill Belichick, they have since understood that number will need to be quite a bit higher.

According to Matt Hayes, that number has jumped $16 million to a total of $20 million for the upcoming season. That massive jump is in direct relation to the team’s attempt and success of bringing on future NFL Hall of Famer Bill Belichick.

North Carolina is sure to make waves in the upcoming transfer portal with, now, one of the most renowned coaches in the world and a boosted NIL budget that should have happened years ago.

Expect UNC football to be an immediate contender in the transfer portal.

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Bill Belichick set to become next North Carolina Tar Heels head coach

Well, it seems like it’s happening: Bill Belichick might really be the next North Carolina Tar Heels head coach.

It seems like the Duke Blue Devils might need to face Bill Belichick on the football field next season.

According to a Wednesday night report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the legendary New England Patriots head coach is expected to become the new face of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Reports first surfaced of the six-time Super Bowl champion speaking with the Tar Heels last Thursday, and it seems the conversation progressed well over the weekend.

Belichick, who spent nearly two decades alongside quarterback Tom Brady in the NFL, finished with a 266-121 regular-season record and a 30-12 postseason record in his 24 seasons with the Patriots. He only reached the playoffs once in his final four seasons, however, he only won four games in the 2023 season before parting ways with the franchise.

UNC won at least six games in every season under former coach Mack Brown, but after the 2024 campaign included a 70-50 loss to James Madison and a blown 20-point lead in Durham, the program decided to part ways with the winningest head coach in school history.

Former UNC quarterback gives opinion on Bill Belichick head coaching rumors

Former UNC football star makes his opinion known regarding the potential of Bill Belichick heading to the Tar Heels.

We have heard from former coaches, current coaches, former NFL players and now a former UNC turned NFL starting quarterback on his thoughts of the UNC head coaching vacancy.

In a press conference, former UNC and now New England Patriots starting quarterback Drake Maye gave his thoughts on the rumors of Bill Belichick being the next head coach of his alma mater.

“Obviously a legendary coach with the success he had here,” Maye said in a press conference on Wednesday. “What a great place Chapel Hill is. Anytime you have a legendary NFL coach going back to college, I think it’s cool, it’s pretty interesting for me. I think it’s not official yet, but I think Coach Belichick would love Chapel Hill…Cool thing for a Hall-of-Fame coach to go back and coach college.”

Drake Maye had immense success in North Carolina during his tenure. From 2021-2023, Maye threw for 8.018 yards and 63 touchdowns with only 16 interceptions in just two years as the starting quarterback.

He also ran for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns in those two seasons. Having the success he did at the college level and now starting in the NFL, Maye has earned the right to have an opinion that is valid on the head coaching vacancy.

Maye hit it right on too. Typically, college coaches are looking to make the jump to the NFL. It is very rare to get a coach that has the success of Belichick looking to take the step into the college realm.

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Ex-Patriot and future Hall of Famer offers opinion on Bill Belichick coaching North Carolina

This former Patriot expresses some stark question marks with Belichick coaching in college.

The head coaching vacancy at North Carolina has centered around one name in particular — Bill Belichick. The former New England Patriots coach turned analyst is ready to get back into coaching, but can he make it at the college level?

One of his former superstar players weighed in on that question.

Rob Gronkowski has this to say about his former head coach, according to Inside Carolina and The Dan Patrick Show.

Coach Belichick is the best coach, hands down, in the game of football. He has more knowledge than anyone I’ve ever talked to and just more knowledge of the game inside and out. He knows everything. The playbook, rulebook, you name it. Special teams, offense, defense. This guy knows it all. And he would be a great coach at the University of North Carolina.

My only question is, how would he do — because when you’re a head coach in college, it’s kind of like not really being a head coach. It’s not about all football, from my understanding and meeting head coaches in college and seeing what they do. It’s more about managing the program and also managing these kids and recruiting them. I can’t see Coach Belichick being all-in in that situation.

Coaching-wise, 100%. On the field, getting these players ready for the NFL, that’s what he would do. But, hey, when it comes to recruiting, I think that’s the question mark, and that’s really up to him if he can see himself doing that. Me, personally, I can see him getting tired and old with all that transfer portal, NIL stuff going on.

From the sounds of it, the future Hall of Fame tight end has the same opinion as most former players and NFL analysts. Belichick would be an amazing coach, but when it comes to recruiting, can he keep up with the younger crowd of coaches?

The name Belichick alone will grab some recruit’s attention with his ideal preparedness for the next level, which will help. Belichick and North Carolina continue communication into Wednesday, December 11.

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Class of 2025 top recruit commits to Big 12 school over North Carolina

North Carolina losses the sweepstakes on the Class of 2025 overall top recruit.

The Class of 2025 for North Carolina is looking slimmer and slimmer. Currently, Hubert Davis has verbal commits from the No. 47 player in the nation, Isaiah Denis, and the No. 51 ranked player, Derek Dixon.

The Tar Heels were in the hunt for the No. 1 overall player in the country, AJ Dybantsa after reaching his final four teams that he was deciding between.

Today, Dybantsa chose to commit to BYU over North Carolina, Alabama, and Kansas. Dybantsa reigns from Hurricane, Utah, at Utah Prep.

That gave BYU, the Provo, Utah, school the advantage of being his “hometown” university.

Dybantsa told ESPN the following regarding his commitment to BYU.

At BYU, the whole staff from the head coach on down came from the NBA. Head coach Kevin Young coached my favorite player in KD, and coached Devin Booker. Both had a lot of good things to say about him. We watched clips of both.

Dybantsa is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft so having a school and staff that will prepare him for that step was a big part of his decision-making.

It can only be assumed that North Carolina’s recent struggles this season played a part in his decision as well. However, there are still several players that Hubert Davis is looking to add to his team from the Class of 2025, but the players are depleting quickly.

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Tar Heels drop out of the latest AP Poll Top 25

Despite four losses, including three to Top-10-ranked teams, the Tar Heels did not deserve to fall out of the AP Top 25.

North Carolina welcomed Georgia Tech at the end of last week, winning a hard-fought first ACC game in the Dean Smith Center to start conference play 1-0 on the season. That win also stopped the bleeding of the previous three losses.

Before that, North Carolina left the Maui Invitational with two straight losses to No. 2 ranked Auburn and No. 21 ranked Michigan State. Earlier last week, they lost to No. 7 ranked Alabama.

As a result, the Tar Heels plummeted to No. 20 overall from a top-10 ranking and now are not featured on the AP Poll Top 25 anywhere in Week 6.

However, they did receive 24 votes which is almost a slap in the face.

The strength of North Carolina’s schedule has caused them to suffer mightily in the first couple months of the season. They have already faced four top-25 ranked teams including three of those inside the top 10 and only one of those four on their home court.

Similar teams ranked in the bottom half of the Top 25 yet to have a ranked win and a few barely even a quad-one win. It feels undeserved that, despite the four losses, the Tar Heels have not just fallen out of the top 25, but if you include post-ranking votes, they are ranked No. 42 in the NCAA.

North Carolina can be seen in action again on Saturday afternoon when LaSalle comes to the Dean Smith Center at 4:00 p.m. ET airing on the CW Network.

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Jon Sumrall discusses his lack of communication with UNC about head coaching

Jon Sumrall is unaffected by rumors of him pairing with UNC football and states he has “yet to have a conversation.”

North Carolina is in the heat of a hunt for a new head coach. With the transfer portal opening this week, it is imperative that the search move along with expediency.

The names that have been swirling as of late are Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, and former NFL head coach Bill Belichick. The latter is the most notable of the three.

However, most players, coaches, fans, and analysts around the college game think that the best fit for the UNC football team is Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall.

Rumors suggested that Sumrall was considering the idea and even at one point interviewed with the Tar Heels about their head coaching vacancy.

However, in a recent interview, Sumrall debunks that entire sentiment. According to a recorded interview from FOX8NOLA Sumrall had this to say about whether or not he had an interview with North Carolina.

People call, they call my agent. I don’t talk to them very often. Very little gets to me, very little, like almost nothing gets to me. Like “I’m not talking, I’m not talking, I’m not talking.” If something gets to me, it’s usually because it something I really need to consider. Nothing is getting to me right now. You could say that, nothing’s getting to me right now.

Sumrall goes on in the statement to say that it “could change,” but he is “happy” in Tulane.

His answer to the question would suggest that the conversations around him and UNC haven’t left his agent to him yet as he stated, “nothing is getting to him.” This leads further to believe that the university will go in another direction.

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Surprise candidate interviews for UNC football head coach job

Guess who the latest surprise name in the UNC head coaching vacancy is?

The North Carolina Tar Heels search for a head coach is off and running following the end of the regular season and the departure of Mack Brown.

While names have been floated out as candidates, there is a surprise name that has surfaced. And it’s a legendary NFL head coach.

Per Inside Carolina, Bill Belichick officially interviewed for the open position as a candidate:

Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at North Carolina this week, Inside Carolina first reported Thursday. He’s among a group of candidates the Tar Heels have spoken with since firing Mack Brown on Nov. 26, a list that Inside Carolina reports includes Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, among others. Inside Carolina first reported Sunday the initial contact between Belichick and UNC officials.

Belichick coached the New England Patriots from 2000-2023 where he made his fame. He was a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year and a six-time Super Bowl Champion with the team.

He holds numerous NFL records including the most Super Bowl wins and appearances, the most playoff wins and appearances, and the most divisional championships as a head coach.

The move for Belichick from the professional realm to the college realm is an interesting choice, but there is no data to suggest that Belichick couldn’t thrive at the collegiate game. The name alone would flip recruits.

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