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Category Archives: UNC Football

Tar Heels players embrace new world as part of coach Bill Belichick’s first college team

Tar Heels players embrace new world as part of coach Bill Belichick’s first college team

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Shipp remembers the conversation with his roommates after learning Bill Belichick was North Carolina’s new coach.

“It was just like, ‘That’s the greatest coach of all time,'” the receiver recalled, “’and he’s about to be a coaching us.’”

Belichick’s arrival has triggered plenty of change for the Tar Heels, who are making a big bet on the man who won six Super Bowls as an NFL head coach to spark their football program. No one knows that better than the players — both the holdovers and the transfer-portal arrivals — after months of Belichick overhauling the roster and building the foundation on his first college team.

North Carolina players hadn’t spoken to reporters since last year’s team ended its season with a Fenway Bowl loss to UConn three days after Christmas, all of which came after Belichick had been hired as coach for the 2025 season.

So Tuesday marked the first time UNC had made players available to reporters since then to discuss Belichick’s arrival. That has meant being coached by someone with a long track record of success at the sport’s highest level, along with getting a peek behind the terse and grumpy persona he was known for with the New England Patriots.

Defensive back Will Hardy said the players are used to curiosity that comes with being coached by the NFL lifer now giving college a try.

“There’s a lot of that, you get a lot of ‘How is Coach Belichick? What’s new? What’s different?'” Hardy said. “So I’ve rehearsed these questions a lot with family and friends.”

Formative stages

The school hired Belichick in December to elevate the program at a time when football’s role as the revenue driver in college sports has never been bigger.

He and general manager Michael Lombardi have described their goal as building a pro-style model at the college level. It’s been a key pitch as the 73-year-old Belichick made his first foray onto the recruiting trail, as well as the volume of players transferring in and out of the program.

Belichick’s first on-field work in Chapel Hill came during spring workouts, lodged between portal windows in December and April.

“Look, these are great kids to work with, they really are,” Belichick said Tuesday. “We’ve had great buy-in. There have really been no problems at all. These guys are on time, they’re early, they work hard, they put in the work in the weight room, out on the field. They spend time on their own, whether it’s doing extra training or coming over and watching film and that type of thing.

“They’ve made a ton of improvement and these guys are a lot better than they were when we started in January, on every level. So it’s exciting to see where that’s going to take us.”

Enticing opportunity

For the players, part of the adjustment had been the reality that their coach was winning Super Bowls with quarterback Tom Brady while they were growing up and watching on TV.

Intimidating much?

“I mean, maybe at first when you see him, all you see is the Super Bowls that he’s won,” said offensive lineman Christo Kelly, a Holy Cross transfer and Belichick’s first portal commitment. “But when you get here and you see the way he cares, you see the way that he approaches the game, you see how hard he works, there’s no question why he has the success that he has.

“The attention to detail, the emphasis on fundamentals, and really just kind of creating competition for the guys, that’s what’s getting built here. Guys are embracing it. He treats everybody with tremendous respect and it’s been great.”

Defensive back Thad Dixon had met Belichick before when he was at Washington, playing under Belichick’s son Steve — now the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. The two shared a few conversations then, and he jumped at the chance to head east.

“I really just wanted the opportunity just to learn from somebody like that, that had did it in the league for so long,” Dixon said.

Behind the curtain

Yet not every surprise has been about X’s and O’s. Sometimes it’s simply when Belichick has dropped the all-business facade to expose an unexpectedly humorous side.

“I feel like that’s the biggest curveball, you’re coming to the first meeting and you’re expecting it to be serious, 100% locked in,” said Shipp, who played 12 games for UNC last season. “He comes in and he introduces himself and then he busts a joke. That’s the second thing he said.”

Hardy pointed that vibe, too.

“There are times when he’ll just crack a joke out of nowhere,” he said. “And just him being kind of monotone sometimes will make those jokes so funny.”

Still, Hardy noted it’s mingled amid the work, such as film sessions when “there’s no hiding” when Belichick highlights a mistake.

UNC opens the season on Labor Day against TCU in a college version of Monday Night Football.

“I’ve loved having 1-on-1 conversations with him,” Hardy said. “It’s cool to see and meet him personally, because you grow up and see him on TV and everything. And he’s just a completely different coach and guy when you get to be around him all day. It’s cool.”

UNC’s Belichick defends Hudson as ‘doing her job’ after interjecting during CBS interview

UNC’s Belichick defends Hudson as ‘doing her job’ after interjecting during CBS interview

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick has defended girlfriend Jordon Hudson for interjecting during a CBS interviewer’s questions about their relationship and said she was “simply doing her job.” The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach issued a statement through UNC on Wednesday. That followed an appearance on “CBS News Sunday Morning” to promote his upcoming book on his coaching life. In the interview, Hudson objected to a question about how the two had met. The 73-year-old Belichick said in his statement that the segment presents “selectively edited clips” to “suggest a false narrative” that the 24-year-old Hudson tried to control the interview.… Continue Reading

ACC and new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick head toward season after spring full of changes

ACC and new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick head toward season after spring full of changes

It’s on to fall camp for the Atlantic Coast Conference and new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick. The Super Bowl champion coach with the New England Patriots came to college last December, taking over a Tar Heels program looking for ACC championships. Belichick was the buzziest offseason addition in the ACC. Stanford and interim coach Frank Reich made it through a chaotic spring following the March firing of coach Troy Taylor, who was twice investigated on allegations of hostile behavior. CFP teams in Clemson and SMU both felt like they built on playoff seasons from a year ago.… Continue Reading

TCU and North Carolina will open ’26 in Ireland after Belichick’s debut this year at home vs. Frogs

TCU and North Carolina will open ’26 in Ireland after Belichick’s debut this year at home vs. Frogs

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU and North Carolina will play their 2026 opener in Ireland. That will come a year after Bill Belichick’s debut as coach of the Tar Heels comes at home against the Horned Frogs. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Aug. 29, 2026. It will be the first game abroad for both TCU and North Carolina. Their season opener this year will be on Sept. 1, which is Labor Day. TCU will be the home team for the game in Ireland. The two teams were initially scheduled to open the 2026 season in Fort Worth, Texas.… Continue Reading

South Alabama QB Gio Lopez announces plan to transfer to North Carolina

South Alabama QB Gio Lopez announces plan to transfer to North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez is transferring to North Carolina. Lopez announced his decision on social media Thursday night to join Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels, who wrapped up spring practices last weekend. Lopez proved to be a dual-threat option in his first full season as the starter, throwing for 2,559…… Continue Reading

Hearing begins for $2.8 billion NCAA settlement, could lock in seismic changes for college sports

Hearing begins for $2.8 billion NCAA settlement, could lock in seismic changes for college sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has opened the final hearing for a landmark $2.8 billion settlement that will impact every corner of college athletics by saying she will not be granting formal approval on Monday. The settlement calls for paying more than $2.7 billion in damages to athletes who say the NCAA and five biggest conferences prevented them from earning money off their celebrity status. It also would clear the way for each schools to begin sharing up to $20.5 million with their athletes.… Continue Reading

NFL legend Bill Belichick is coaching practices again. Only now he’s a college rookie at UNC

NFL legend Bill Belichick is coaching practices again. Only now he’s a college rookie at UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick is back on the practice sidelines again, though now in college at North Carolina. The 72-year-old coach who won six Super Bowls with the NFL’s New England Patriots opened spring practices at UNC this week. He also held his first news conference on campus since his introductory one after his hiring in December. Belichick told reporters that players have responded well to the new staff. That comes as Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi have talked about building what amounts to a mini-NFL model in a college program. UNC’s spring practices run through April 12.… Continue Reading

ACC, FSU, Clemson reach proposed settlement to end legal fight, change money distribution: AP source

ACC, FSU, Clemson reach proposed settlement to end legal fight, change money distribution: AP source

A person familiar with the situation says the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson and Florida State have reached a proposed settlement that would end their legal fight and change the league’s revenue-distribution model. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because neither the league nor the schools have publicly addressed their settlement. The proposed agreement requires approval from the league and the schools. Trustees at the two schools have scheduled meetings for Tuesday. The ACC’s Board of Directors made up of university presidents and chancellors will also have a call Tuesday on the settlement.… Continue Reading

Tar Heels GM Lombardi working to implement NFL-style approach under Belichick

Tar Heels GM Lombardi working to implement NFL-style approach under Belichick

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi says everything the Tar Heels do under new coach Bill Belichick “is predicated on building a pro team.” Lombardi held a news conference Tuesday to discuss the Tar Heels’ most recent batch of signees and the work so far in Belichick’s brief tenure. The school hired Belichick in December for his first college-coaching job. Belichick led the NFL’s New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles as a head coach. Lombardi said the recruiting pitch to players includes having “the greatest coach in the history of football” to go with “a great university.”… Continue Reading

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