Bill Belichick is entering his second full offseason at North Carolina, and the program is beginning to show the fingerprints of a coach who spent six decades studying football at its highest level.

The first year was, by Belichick's own admission in his postseason press conference, a process year. Installing a defensive system built on concepts that NFL players spend entire careers learning — with 18-to-22-year-olds who have had weeks to absorb it — produces predictable growing pains. The Tar Heels gave up too many big plays in coverage and struggled at times with the physical demands of Belichick's base front. That was expected.

What wasn't fully anticipated was how quickly the recruiting landscape would respond. Belichick's name recognition at the high school and transfer portal level has been substantial. North Carolina signed a top-20 national class for the first time in program history. More notably, several defensive linemen and linebackers — exactly the kind of players Belichick's system needs — chose Chapel Hill over programs with considerably more historical prestige.

The key question heading into 2026 is whether Belichick's scheme can be executed effectively at the college level against the spread offenses that dominate the ACC. The multiple defense Belichick prefers — which can show two-high, quarters, and pattern-matching looks from the same personnel grouping — demands a level of communication and recognition that NFL teams practice for years. His staff has simplified the installation for college players while preserving the core principles. How simplified is enough without losing what makes the system effective?

The offensive side of the ball is less settled. The coordinator hire Belichick made in the offseason has yet to establish a clear identity. The quarterback situation heading into spring is genuinely open, which could be a problem or an opportunity depending on how the competition plays out.

What's not in question is Belichick's attention to detail and his ability to evaluate talent. Those don't diminish at the college level. What the college game demands is patience with development and a willingness to coach players at a fundamentally different stage of their athletic maturity. By all accounts from within the program, that adjustment has gone better than skeptics expected.

Fall camp will tell the real story. It usually does.