Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels can't seem to catch a break in the transfer portal.
It has not been an easy transfer portal for Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels, who have now lost 26 players this offseason.
The most recent departure? Linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who decided to enter the portal on Friday, via Pete Nakos of On 3.
This marks the third North Carolina linebacker to head to the transfer portal this winter, with Khmori House and Tyler Thompson also bolting Chapel Hill.
While Gbayor may not have been quite as impactful as House or Thompson, he still played a key role for the Tar Heels' defense in 2025, finishing with 41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery touchdown.
In fact, Gbayor is a four-star transfer and is the seventh-ranked linebacker in the portal, so he will certainly be in high demand.
This marks the third time Gbayor has entered the transfer portal.
The former three-star recruit began his collegiate career at Nebraska in 2021, but didn't actually begin getting playing time until 2023 when he logged 24 tackles and three tackles for loss. He then registered 49 tackles, six tackles for loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries in 2024.
Mikai Gbayor. Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images.Gbayor decided to hit the portal after the 2024 campaign and committed to Missouri last December. He then made the choice to re-enter the transfer portal that ensuing spring, when he decided to join North Carolina.
The Tar Heels actually had a decent defense this past season, finishing seventh in the ACC in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed.
Obviously, the unit could use some improvement, but it was still solid, so losing so many key players on the defensive side of the ball stings.
North Carolina has managed to bag 10 commits in the transfer portal thus far, only three of which have been defensive players.
There is still plenty of time for Belichick to add some more pieces, but at the same time, the Tar Heels seem to have encountering difficulty bringing top transfers to UNC.
North Carolina has not landed a single four-star transfer since the portal window opened on Jan. 2, which indicates that the top players don't really view the Tar Heels as a top program just yet.
Considering UNC went just 4-8 in 2025, it's hard to blame them.