CFB Top 50, #43: 2025 North Carolina Tar Heels

by
Bracket Yard
July 11, 2025

At number 43 on the CFB Top 50 countdown, it’s the 2025 North Carolina Tar Heels and their big-name new coach.

UNC made one of the biggest splashes in the college football coaching carousel this offseason, hiring legendary coach Bill Belichick off of the couch. Belichick replaces Mack Brown, who was dismissed at the conclusion of last season. He himself had been out of coaching for a year or so after being let go by the New England Patriots. His name had been connected to several NFL openings, so few took it seriously when the Heels were mentioned as a contender – that is, until he took the job. At the age of 73, Belichick will lead his first college program, and in fact, this is his first time even coaching at the collegiate level. To say this will be interesting might be an understatement.

Does Belichick have what it takes to build a collegiate program, ostensibly to hand it off to his son? (There has never been any official confirmation of this, but one can assume the elder Belichick would be happy with that outcome.)

2025 North Carolina Tar Heels Basic Facts

Head Coach: Bill Belichick (1st season)

2025 Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

2024 Record: 6-7 (3-5)

Final Resolution of Last Season: Lost Fenway Bowl

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: T-43rd (30.9)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: 89th (28.1)

North Carolina Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – Bryce Baker, quarterback. Four-star recruit from North Carolina.

IN – Pryce Yates, defensive lineman. Transferred from UConn.

OUT – Omarion Hampton, running back. Drafted by LA Chargers in 1st round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Beau Atkinson, defensive end. Transferred to Ohio State.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

October 4 vs. Clemson. This will be Belichick’s first big conference game at his new home stadium in Chapel Hill. It could be a chance for a legendary coach to shake up the ACC right away, or a sign that there’s a lot of work still to be done.

2025 North Carolina Tar Heels: Outlook

While we have the Heels sitting at number 43 on our preseason top 50 list, do we really know what’s going to happen this year? The likely starting quarterback, Gio Lopez, is a transfer and an underclassman. There will also be a lot of new faces in the starting 11 on defense. Not to mention, this is a totally new coaching regime.

We have a certain expectation that a Belichick-coached team will be respectable, but again, this is uncharted territory, even for a well-known coaching entity. You would be well within your rights to expect that they will be at least as good as last season, but as for how much better? Only time can tell on that one. The guy does know how to coach some defense, and that is an area of need for UNC, so perhaps he can be of help, anyway.