After a dismal 4-8 debut, Bill Belichick eyes a postseason turnaround for North Carolina. Analysts project a potential First Responders Bowl bid as the legendary coach finally stabilizes his roster.
At a very minimum, Bill Belichick was expected to get North Carolina to a bowl game in his first season.
Belichick won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots. Even with quarterback Mac Jones, Belichick made a playoff appearance after Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In his prime, Belichick usually made the best out of a roster that had questionable talent, though the end of his tenure at New England racked up losses after he made notable misses in the draft and in free agency.
UNC didn't look like a contender in the ACC in 2025, as the Tar Heels won just two conference games and finished the season 4-8. Belichick was seriously behind in recruiting and the transfer portal last offseason, which led to the team being full of talent typically seen in Group of 6 schools.
Belichick has made good progress to recruit much better this offseason, and the Tar Heels should add more numbers to the win column this fall. It would be a serious disappointment if UNC didn't make a bowl game this year.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports is projecting the Tar Heels to play Cincinnati in the First Responders Bowl.
While not the most prestigious bowl, the game would be substantial for Belichick's goals at UNC, proving to the fan base and recruits that he's headed in the right direction with the program.
Earlier this spring, Belichick suggested the team was making significant progress to right the ship for the fall.
The biggest thing was being late on everything last year," Belichick said. "We were behind on recruiting, behind on the first portal, and then had to make so many changes with the second portal that the team that went to training camp was a lot different from the team that finished spring practice.
"There will be a couple of changes between the end of spring practice and the start of fall camp, probably, but for the most part I’d say 95 percent of our team is in place. We’ll get a few freshmen who enter in June, but most everybody is here. We’ll have a full year of working with them, and that’s way different than last year."
A bowl game this season could set up UNC to be a contender for the ACC championship in 2027 if Belichick can convince players in the transfer portal that the program is a true pipeline to the NFL.