When Bill Belichick arrived in Chapel Hill, UNC sold the vision of operating like the NFL’s “33rd team,” with general manager Michael Lombardi saying the program would be built around a pro-style model. Today, that vision looks far less convincing than it did at the start, especially given the expectations that came with Belichick’s arrival.
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That makes UNC’s coaching search look even more uncomfortable in hindsight. The Tar Heels had younger college coaches on their radar before choosing the biggest name available. One has already taken his new SEC program into the top 10, while another inherited a three-win team and started 4-0. UNC chose Belichick instead.
Rising coaching stars Jon Sumrall and Bob Chesney were both seriously considered for the Tar Heels job before UNC ultimately went all-in on the NFL legend. Sumrall had emerged as a major target during the search, while Chesney was also firmly in the mix. But the Board of Trustees reportedly pushed the program toward Belichick instead, a decision CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford later summed up in four brutal words: “Epic bag fumble in Chapel Hill.”
The hindsight is brutal. Sumrall is 4-0 at Florida with wins over Auburn and No. 4 Ole Miss, while Chesney has UCLA at 4-0 after beating Purdue and Maryland. Ross Martin put it plainly: UNC “could have had either Jon Sumrall or Bob Chesney in 2025.” Instead, both are unbeaten elsewhere while Belichick is still trying to prove UNC made the right call.
Neither coach was some random name who suddenly looks good in hindsight.
Sumrall had already built one of the stronger rising résumés in college football before taking over at Florida. ESPN’s Pete Thamel pointed to his sustained success at Tulane, where he had stacked winning seasons and remained in the conference-title mix. That track record helped explain why athletic director Bubba Cunningham reportedly viewed him as one of UNC’s strongest younger options. Sumrall went deep into the process, meeting with UNC leadership in New Orleans before withdrawing as the push for Belichick intensified.
Chesney was not as far along in the search, but his name had already forced its way into the conversation. He built a reputation as a program builder at Holy Cross, carried that momentum to James Madison, and then gave UNC a firsthand look when JMU hung 70 points on the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Thamel specifically pointed to that performance as a reason Chesney belonged on the list.
What has happened since only makes the what-if louder. Sumrall now has Florida ranked No. 8 after a 52-28 win over No. 4 Ole Miss in which the Gators piled up 302 rushing yards. Chesney, meanwhile, inherited a UCLA team that went 3-9 in 2025 and has already pushed the Bruins into the AP Poll at No. 23, highlighted by a 54-3 rout of Maryland.
Nobody can know whether either coach would have produced the same results at UNC. But the contrast is hard to ignore. North Carolina had legitimate college coaching options in front of it, chose the legendary NFL name instead, and is still waiting for that gamble to deliver the kind of immediate payoff Sumrall and Chesney are already producing elsewhere.