After struggling mightily through his first season as North Carolina football coach, Bill Belichick is making some big changes. The Tar Heels went 4-8 and won just two of their eight ACC games. A season-opening 48-14 rout at the hands of TCU in Chapel Hill set the tone for a long season.
Things got so bad that there were rumors in October that Belichick and UNC might cut ties with each other in the middle of the season. Instead, the former New England Patriots head coach played out the season. After another round of NFL hiring has happened and he was passed again, Belichick is preparing for the 2026 campaign.
Belichick has overhauled the roster and staff going into 2026. He has had some major changes made at the quarterback position. He has added from the Transfer Portal, and he landed one of the top signal callers in a move nobody saw coming.
North Carolina Lands Dynamic Western Carolina QB Through the Transfer Portal
There was siginifcate changes made to the quarterback position for UNC. Belichick landed commitments from Maryland transfer Billy Edwards and Miles O’Neill from Texas A&M. Belichick also landed FCS transfer Taron Dickens, who tore it up at Western Carolina last season.
Dickens had an incredible sophomore season for the Catamounts in 2026. He threw for 3,508 yards with 38 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In his first game against Sanford in a 50-35 win, Dickens was 35-for-46 for 582 yards and six touchdowns. Against Wofford, he was 53-for-56 for 378 yards and three touchdowns in a 23-21 victory. He finished the season with a 188.2 quarterback rating. Talk about video game numbers.
Improving the quarterback position is something that Belichick needed to do going into 2026. Now it remains to be seen who will impress during spring practices, which begin next month, but Belichick is certainly going to have a battle that will carry over to camp in the summer.
North Carolina Undergoes Changes on Offense for 2026
After the season, Belichick fired offensive coordinator Freddy Kitchens and hired former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino. Also gone from last season are QBs Max Johnson, Gio Lopez, and Bryce Baker. All three left in the portal and found new homes. Johnson is at Georgia Southern, Lopez committed to Wake Forest, and Baker committed to James Franklin at Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels also bring back Class of 2025 QB Au’Tori Newkirk and enrollee Travis Burgess.
However, spring practices and camp over the summer leading into the season will be about the transfers. O’Neill was a backup at Texas A&M, while Edwards started at Maryland and had a good 2024 season, but suffered a leg injury at the beginning of 2025. Adding Dickens creates much-needed competition for UNC.
Whoever is named the starter will have their work cut out for them in turning around the Tar Heels’ offense with Petrino. In 2025, North Carolina ranked 119th in points per game at 19.8 and 129th in total offense, averaging just 228.8 yards per game. They converted just 36.9% of their third downs. There is no need to look very far as to why UNC struggled in 2025.
However, strides are being made to turn it around in 2026. The question will be whether or not Dickens can translate his game to the FBS level or not.
North Carolina & Bill Belichick Make Stunning Move That Wasn’t on Anyone’s Radar