When former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was hired at the University of North Carolina, it certainly shocked some people. It was widely thought that Belichick was going to be back into coaching. However, not many people thought it might be in college. Certainly, nobody had North Carolina as the destination.
That ended up being the surprise destination, and it was a rough first season in Chapel Hill for Belichick. They got blown out at home in their season-opener by TCU. Things never got better after that. UNC finished at 4-8, and it felt like a lost season. Bill Connelly of ESPN didn’t beat around the bush about Belichick’s first season in charge of the Tar Heels.
“The less said about Belichick’s collegiate head coaching debut, the better. His first transfer class didn’t have nearly as much talent as he and general manager Michael Lombardi seemed to think, and Lombardi’s “33rd NFL team” quote got recycled for all the wrong reasons during a dreadful 4-8 campaign. Consider it a mulligan year, I guess,” wrote Connelly.
After a full offseason, things can’t get much worse for North Carolina in 2026, can it? According to Connelly, it could, but if there is improvement, it’s not going to be eye-opening.
North Carolina Gets Bad News Ahead of Pivotal 2026 Season Under Bill Belichick
Connelly broke down the ACC for the 2026 season. There are going to be some interesting storylines throughout the season. Can Miami finally get to the ACC Championship Game? Can Virginia Tech turn around quickly under James Franklin? Will Virginia reach the ACC Championship Game for a second straight season? So many storylines, but what about Belichick and UNC?
Well, Connelly has the Tar Heels potentially taking some baby steps and looking to find a path to just become bowl-eligible at 6-6. If they are, they are going to have to do it with some new and old faces on staff. He has brought in Bobby Petrino to run the offense and will have his son Steve, back as defensive coordinator.
However, despite the defense having its moments at times last year, Bill Belichick is finding out that college football is just as tough to build a roster and have some success as it is in the NFL.
What Does a 6-6 Season Likely Mean for Bill Belichick and North Carolina?
Finding a path to 6-6 could be difficult for the Tar Heels. They have no-conference games with TCU, East Tennessee State, Notre Dame, and UConn. The matchup at UConn is going to be no walk in the park for UNC.
As far as ACC games go, they have road games at Clemson, Pittsburgh, Duke, and Virginia. Their conference home games are Syracuse, Miami, Louisville, and North Carolina State.
“Belichick bears the burden of proof, but it’s not hard to see potential improvement if the defense is a top-40 unit and Petrino engineers at least average output. But for reasons good or bad, the Heels will likely be a main character early in the season again: They face TCU in Ireland in Week 0, will visit Clemson in Week 3 and host Notre Dame in Week 5. Either they pull an upset and generate some “Belichick redemption?” headlines, or they start a demoralizing 1-3 with a run of “Belichick retirement?” headlines,” wrote Connelly.
If this turns into another 4-8 season or, dare we say, a 5-7 season, things will get very interesting in Chapel Hill for Belichick in Year 2.
Bill Belichick Gets Hit With a Blunt Warning Ahead of Pivotal 2026 North Carolina Season