North Carolina aims for on-field gains for Year 2 under Bill Belichick after his rough college debut

By Aaron Beard - Associated Press - Wednesday, August 19, 2026

North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — 2025 record: 4-8

Expectations

The Tar Heels a year ago bet big on six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick only to fall flat and miss a bowl game for the first time since 2018.

The most pressing requirement is simply showing improvement and getting back to a bowl after tallying more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins against a favorable league schedule, results hardly consistent with paying a coach $10 million. On-field struggles have been compounded by unwanted off-field headlines, including general manager Michael Lombardi being placed on paid administrative leave days before preseason camp.

After having 70 new players last year, the Tar Heels have 60 this year - including 40 first-year freshmen - to create another chemistry experiment for Belichick. He has pointed to value from most of the freshmen arriving in time for spring drills, where they join holdovers like receiver Jordan Shipp and defensive lineman Melkart Abou Jaoude.

The Tar Heels are picked to finish 15th in the 17-team ACC race.

They’re among a handful of teams staying with an eight-game league schedule as the ACC transitions to a nine-game model. But the slate is much harder this time around. UNC plays five of teams picked to finish in the top seven, including preseason favorite Miami on Halloween.

Strengths include the defensive line

UNC’s defense showed some gains as last year wore on, notably when it came to the pass rush and bringing down quarterbacks. The Tar Heels ranked tied for 20th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks by averaging 2.67 sacks per game, led by Abou Jaoude (tied for 12th at 10.5). Leroy Jackson (36 tackles) is back after starting 11 games as a redshirt freshman along with redshirt senior Isaiah Johnson.

They’ll need to step up for a team that lost its top three tacklers from last year.

Weaknesses include offensive questions and overall uncertainty

UNC also brought in veteran coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator, and Petrino has led high-powered attacks before. But even a modest step would be an improvement for a unit that ranked among the worst in FBS in scoring (118th nationally at 19.3 points) and total offense (129th, 288.8).

Belichick is banking that even a retooled roster will have better continuity with more players having gone through spring practices and offseason workouts with the program, offering a bit more stability than last year’s revamp that continued into the summer. But that means finding standouts will be a process pushing right into the regular season, and even Belichick wasn’t sure how much the Tar Heels would have to live with growing pains.

“I don’t know, that’s a great question,” he said. “We’ll see.”

New faces

QB Billy Edwards Jr. (transfer from Wisconsin); RB Kaleb Jackson (transfer from LSU); OL Andrew Threatt (transfer from Charleston Southern); DL Jaylen Harvey (transfer from Penn State); DL Vodney Cleveland (four-star freshman who flipped commitment from Texas).