Feb 27, 2026
NCAAChapel Hill
The recruiting response has exceeded expectations. The scheme installation is a work in progress. Spring will answer the remaining questions.
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.
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