After 11 months of terrible publicity and mediocre football, the UNC Tar Heels ended their 2025 campaign with a 4–8 record. Definitely not the turnaround many fans were counting on right away. With Bill Belichick’s Year 1 now done, the ACC commissioner is nudging the whole Belichick experiment.

“I’m excited about the future of North Carolina football,” commissioner Jim Philips said when asked about Bill Belichick’s experience on Tuesday. “I think it was a difficult situation, a transition period, and you have the all-time winningest football coach and one of the greatest coaches in the game.”

According to JP, Year 1 was a setup year for Bill Belichick at Chapel Hill. Phillips has always been vocal about Bill Belichick’s arrival at the ACC. He’s focused on the benefits of having a huge name like Belichick in his conference. He acknowledges it as a net positive for the conference’s brand even if the on-field results weren’t immediate.

The Tar Heels started the season with a tough 14-48 loss to TCU, but picked up some non-conference wins against lesser opponents like Charlotte and Richmond. Their early conference play was rough, with losses to Clemson (10-38), California (18-21), and a much closer overtime loss at Virginia (16-17).

Despite a few wins sprinkled throughout the season against Syracuse and Stanford, they hit a skid at the end, losing their last three games to Wake Forest, Duke, and NC State.

The Tar Heels struggled with consistency on offense. They finished 121st out of 136 teams in points per game. They averaged just 19.2 points. Jim urges the ACC to give Bill Belichick some time to cook.

“He deserves time. He deserves support. I think he’s got a really good plan moving forward.”

Remember when Nick Saban went 7-6 in his first year? The way he turned the program around became legendary. Belichick’s coaching prowess could help us witness a different kind of Tar Heels for the next season.

He believes that the 33rd NFL team promise will soon follow in year 2, with Bill Belichick’s NFL rumors finally shut down. Plus, the Jordon Hudson drama cooled off a bit. Perhaps it’s time for Belichick to show a Patriot-coded football in 2026.

Bill Belichick gets ready to form core foundations

For Year Two under Belichick, the primary goal is simple:

Be way better!

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The program feels they were closer to winning some of those tight games than their record shows. With a full year of Bill Belichick’s system already in place, the hope is that players are more in tune with his demands and philosophy.

Belichick has made it clear he’s “all in” on this project. The head coach’s big game plan for 2026 is essentially a major overhaul featuring new talent. The Tar Heels secured a massive, high-ranking 2026 recruiting class with around 39 commitments. That’s an unusually high number for a single class.

According to Rivals, they are ranked third in the ACC, ahead of Clemson and SMU. The class includes 10 four-star commits.

The idea is that these young players will form the core “foundation” of his program for years to come. Not just a quick fix. The coaching staff believes in this approach. They’re less reliant on the transfer portal than some other college teams.

At its core, the second-year strategy is about getting back to basics and being way more disciplined. Belichick remains focused on mastering the simple stuff. “Block. Tackle. Throw. Catch. Cover.”

He’s planning to use practice time differently than the pros do, with more physical, fundamental work to really drill those skills in.

The bottom line is establishing a culture that is tough and hard-working. Some people still think next year might be a little “bumpy” with all the young players. However, the internal hope is that this new foundation will finally set the Tar Heels up for some serious wins down the line.