The biggest strength for the Tar Heels in 2025

The 2025 North Carolina football team is one of the most unique college football situations in the entire country this year. Bill Belichick is returning to coaching, but this time in college football. Belichick has talent on this Tar Heels roster, but there is so much unknown after they brought in a handful of new players in recruiting and the transfer portal.

Bill Belichick has never been a head coach at the college level, but he is widely seen as the best coach in football history, thanks to his success at the pro level. In Pro Football Focus’s preview of what the North Carolina football season will look like, they pointed out that having Belichick on the sideline is a massive strength, despite the other uncertainty on the roster, like the skill position talent.

The preview read, “On the field, North Carolina has some excellent units, such as its linebackers and offensive line. But the Tar Heels’ greatest strength is that they now have the greatest coach in NFL history holding the clipboard. Belichick won a record six Super Bowls during his time with the New England Patriots, and his 333 total victories are the second most all-time. It remains to be seen how he’ll translate to the college game, but it was more than a worthy gamble by North Carolina.”

Pro Football Focus’s main point is that, at the end of the day, when you have a coach as good as Belichick on the sideline, he has earned the trust of fixing and being able to deal with some of North Carolina’s roster issues because his coaching and overall scheme should be enough to put players in positions to succeed.

Roster-wise, South Alabama transfer quarterback Gio Lopez is the primary key in determining if Belichick’s first season is a success. Lopez had 2,559 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 66% completion percentage last season. Then on the ground, he also had 465 yards and seven touchdowns on 83 carries.

He is one of the best defensive minds the football game has ever seen and has earned trust on that side of the ball. He also has a good offensive staff, highlighted by Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator.

As the season gets closer, all of the drama that popped up around Belichick in the offseason will not matter if Belichick wins games. This is the closest thing at the college level to how an NFL team will be run, and time will tell if that leads to success.

Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix.