Bill Belichick’s first offseason in Chapel Hill has been anything but quiet, and that’s even before anyone’s taken a snap. Coming off a 6-7 season, the Tar Heels made a bold, almost surreal move: they lured The Hoodie himself down south, pulling off what felt like a college football fever dream. The result? Headlines everywhere, and a complete program overhaul. After his rival, Belichick, immediately went to work turning the program into Transfer Portal Central. UNC reportedly brought in 60-something new transfers, including a couple of high-octane linebackers.

The Tar Heels were a force in the portal by sheer will and, allegedly, a sharply increased NIL budget. The excitement is palpable, but let’s be real: past Tar Heel seasons have built hopes only to punt them away in November. After careful study, analysts have set UNC’s over/under win at 7.5 total. And there’s also the luxury of one of the ACC’s friendlier schedules. It’s in this whirlwind that analysts like Joel Klatt have gone from “show me” skeptics to UNC hype men.

Klatt’s take on Belichick’s UNC is as much about curiosity as it is analysis. “My buy is North Carolina because I trust their coach, and they play a really favorable schedule,” Klatt said on his show. “I don’t think Bill Belichick cares what all the noise is this offseason. I really don’t. What people are talking about, who they’re talking about. I think he cares about getting this roster, the team, the players, to believe that they can go out there and just do their job.” Since Belichick landed in Chapel Hill, he’s barely given the offseason spectacle a second thought. Instead, he and general manager Michael Lombardi set out to reconstruct the roster and built a mentality that’s all about relentless preparation and responsibility.

Nothing was sacred in the post-Mack Brown era; the team cleared out the quarterback room, injuries left question marks, and the Tar Heels urgently hit the portal. The big solution is landing Gio Lopez. He is a dual-threat QB from South Alabama whose playmaking abilities and statistical chops injected hope into the offense. Lopez, who completed 66% of his passes and ranked 22nd nationally in total offense last year, brings the kind of efficiency and explosiveness UNC badly needed. And the GOAT is rolling up his sleeves. And emphasizing true buy-in, having players show up early, hit the film hard, and compete every snap.

Players are noticing not just the Super Bowl pedigree, but the mix of respect, structure, and even well-timed jokes that break the ice in meetings. Locker room leaders like receiver Jordan Shipp and OL Christo Kelly have talked about how Belichick’s attention to detail and demand for competition have raised standards across the program. Klatt adds, “Bill, along with guys like Nick Saban, will talk a lot about the fact that more games are lost in college football than won. So it’s not that you’ve got to go out there and be better than everybody. It’s just that you’ve got to go out there and not beat yourself. You’ve got to be better than you.” Belichick’s approach is all about treating the team like a pro outfit.

Like a tight ship, but with a surprising amount of person-to-person investment. His first spring practices have focused less on flash and more on consistent improvement and accountability. And the best part is, his take on being back in charge. “That’s the great thing about being a head coach. I can coach anybody I want,” Belichick quipped at his pre-practice news conference. “I can coach the line, I can yell at the tight ends, I can yell at the DBs, I can yell at the kickers.” He is flat-out excited about his new job. So Klatt doesn’t outright buy stock in UNC, but he doesn’t sell it, either. But he’s watching UNC with the sort of anticipation reserved for a high-wire act.

Josh Pate drops the truth bomb

After Joel Klatt’s optimistic and safe approach to Bill Belichick’s new job status at the Tar Heels. Another major voice, Josh Pate, isn’t dazzled by UNC’s $10 million investment in the Hoodie. He’s the first to say: tap the brakes, folks. His message? “I don’t think it’s going to work. Okay. I don’t have very high expectations for it. I just think one of the laziest takes out there has been that Belichick will succeed at North Carolina. And the reason is college football is just like the NFL now.”

The modern college coach isn’t just drawing up blitzes. Instead, he’s hustling recruits, balancing NIL deals, pitching mom and dad as much as the kid, keeping boosters smiley, and living in a soap opera with a playbook. And Belichick’s never had to dial up a family from rural Georgia on a Tuesday night or fight a SEC staffer for a five-star. You’ve got to convince a blue-chip to pick Carolina over Clemson or Bama, not hand out contracts like draft day. UNC’s recruiting is up (2026 class in the top 20, numbers-wise), but Pate notices it’s more quantity than quality so far.

He’s not saying Belichick is a bad coach. But just that the job is a different beast.  Pate also points out, “Let me say this, too. He’s older than any three of his players combined, right? Just that matters, man. Think about who you’re competing against, right? To acquire talent. That stuff matters. You cannot tell me that does not matter. You’re at You’re trying to win in college football for the first time, and you’re starting in your early 70s.” Pate points out that in college, you need more than Super Bowl rings; you need the foundational guys.