Tasked with bailing out UNC head coach Bill Belichick after a disastrous season, new coordinator Bobby Petrino faces immense pressure to revitalize a struggling offense ranked 120th in national scoring.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick quickly moved on from offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens after a troubling first season in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels offense wasn't a threat in the ACC, and there were questions about the talent level of the unit during the season. Former quarterback Gio Lopez, now with Wake Forest, had issues with the way the coaching staff operated last season.
Belichick made an impressive hire at offensive coordinator this season, bringing in legendary coach Bobby Petrino. Petrino has a track record of bringing offensive success to wherever he's coached in college.
Austin Nivison of CBS Sports isn't sure Petrino can "bail out Belichick" in the upcoming season, though he thinks the offense will show improvement this fall.
"Coming off a disastrous first season in the college ranks, Belichick needs a big bounce-back in 2026," he wrote. "The good news for Belichick is that the offense can't possibly get much worse. Last fall, North Carolina averaged 19.2 points per game, which ranked 120th nationally.
"That's why Belichick brought in Petrino to run that side of the ball, and he was the architect of some good offenses at Arkansas. Petrino will have to get more out of quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., whose 2025 season at Wisconsin was derailed by injury."
Improvement is where the Tar Heels need to start before they can possibly compete for the ACC championship in the future. Edwards isn't an elite quarterback choice, but UNC just needs to become bowl eligible to prove Belichick is worthy of landing better recruits for the future.
Petrino emphasized the running game during spring practice, believing that will open up things for the passing game.
“You have to do a good job of teaching and being able to get them to understand the principles of offense,” Petrino said. "We've always been a power-run team, and being able to run the football well. I think you have to run the football.”
"You have to run it when you want to run it, so that when it's short-yardage, goal line, four-minute offense to end the game, you can run it when they know you're going to run the football. I think that's something we've always been very good at.”
With Petrino, the offense should be notably better. With that being said, don't expect the Tar Heels to compete with Miami this season.