Bill Belichick’s roster overhaul faces harsh scrutiny as key defensive departures and a stagnant passing attack leave the Tar Heels scrambling to climb the conference rankings.
The North Carolina Tar Heels did decent enough in their non-conference games against Group of 6 programs.
The Tar Heels, who reportedly recruited players considered for Group of 6 schools, failed to play at a high level during ACC play, going 2-6 in conference play in Bill Belichick's first season as a head coach.
The training wheels are off for Belichick at the college level, and the expectations are that UNC looks like a competitor in 2026. However, the offseason might not have gone the way Belichick wanted.
ESPN's Eli Lederman, Max Olson, and Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the Tar Heels as having the No. 15 offseason in the ACC. That's only better than Boston College and Stanford.
ESPN is worried that the defense could regress this fall.
"One of the few generally positive things from Belichick's debut season was North Carolina's defense, and the Tar Heels lost a lot of talent this offseason," they wrote. "All told, the program returns only three defenders who started eight-plus games last fall.
"A handful of those departures -- such as front-seven standouts Smith Vilbert and Andrew Simpson, and four starters in the secondary -- were due to graduation. But North Carolina had the opportunity to retain defensive linemen CJ Simms (Texas A&M transfer), D'Antre Robinson (Oregon) and Tyler Thompson (Louisville) and House, the program's leading tackler in 2025, and simply couldn't.
"Offensively, the Tar Heels' hopes of turning around the nation's 111th passing attack (183.5 YPG) hinge on a pair of relative questions surrounding Edwards and FCS transfer Taron Dickens."
The additions will have to seriously make up for the losses to get this North Carolina program going in the right direction.
One such newcomer is offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. He's had a history of getting the best out of offenses everywhere he's been. He could be the key to getting North Carolina's offense rolling again.
Belichick is a master at defense. Now, he'll have to prove that he can develop talent at the college level.
Based on ESPN's ranking, the outlet isn't betting UNC will be anywhere close to competitive in conference play for the upcoming season.