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Bill Belichick is embarking on his first season as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, with high expectations and a dose of controversy due to off-field drama.
Still, Tar Heels players and officials have maintained the outside noise has caused no distractions, and they’re certainly going to be ready for their Sept. 1 matchup against TCU.

North Carolina Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick before the game at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on March 8, 2025. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
Tom Brady, who helped Belichick and the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, spoke recently about what the longtime NFL coach will bring to the table.
“What they’re going to get is, obviously, the most prepared, the most hard-working coach that I had ever been around,” Brady told FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt on the latest episode of “Big Noon Conversations.”
“If you go to that school, you will be prepared to play at the next level. He’s going to teach you the right fundamentals, the right techniques. He’s going to have a high expectation for you, and you’re going to develop a lot. That’s what I know.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walks the field during warm-ups as quarterback Tom Brady, #12, stands in the background before Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium in Houston on Feb. 5, 2017. (Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think the challenge for him is he’s dealing with a lot of probably underdeveloped players, because he’s dealt with guys that are four, five, six years further along than what he’s normally had to deal with. So I think there’s probably a learning curve for him, and this is just me hypothesizing. I don’t have much knowledge of it, but I’m sure it’s different coaching a 17 or 18-year-old than even a 22 or 23-year-old.”
Brady also wondered how much the student-athletes will be able to retain given Belichick’s vast coaching knowledge. He noted that they won’t have as much time to prepare for a game when compared to that of a professional NFL player.
Regardless, Belichick will be called upon to lead a team that was 6-7 under Mack Brown last year.

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a preseason press conference on Aug. 6, 2025 inside the Kenan Football Center. (Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The Tar Heels have never made it to the College Football Playoff nor have they really been national title contenders. The last time the team won at least 10 games was in 2015 with Marquise Williams as the starting quarterback. Before that, it was in 1997.
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