Two NFL seasons have transpired without should-be Hall of Fame head coach Bill Belichick, who had spent half of a century in pro football.
Today at noon ET, he embarks on his second season at the college level, with North Carolina.
Like last year, the season commenced with a game against TCU. (It started well, before imploding.) Unlike last year, the game will be played not in Chapel Hill but in Dublin, Ireland.
UNC won’t have defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, who remains on medical leave. And the Tar Heels haven’t had the services of G.M. Michael Lombardi, who was placed on paid administrative leave last month while the school conducts an internal investigation of him.
The bigger question is the quality of the roster that Belichick and Lombardi have compiled for the coming season. They opted to go heavy on high-school recruits for 2026, with less of an emphasis on the transfer portal.
The performance of these young players will ultimately influence Belichick’s fate. Only the first three years of his five-year, $50 million contract are guaranteed; if he’s fired after 2026, the school would owe him one season of pay.
Last year, Belichick went 4-8 with a team that simply wasn’t good enough — regardless of his legendary ability to devise and implement game plans tailored to outscoring any given opponent. If the players aren’t good enough this year, it’s hard to imagine Belichick returning for a third season.
Which likely would bring his coaching career to an end. Unless one of the NFL’s franchises decides to roll the dice on him.
With Belichick getting only one interview in three NFL hiring cycles (and not a sniff in January, when 10 jobs were open), it’s hard to imagine Belichick finding a landing spot in the pro game. Especially if he’ll be looking for a place where the deck would be pre-stacked in his favor.
But it’s not impossible. Crazier things have happened. Like, for instance, the Hall of Fame voters inexplicably denying him a bronze bust in his first year of eligibility.
As should-be Hall of Fame head coach Bill Belichick prepares for his second season in college with an opening game in Ireland, he was asked if he ever sees himself returning to the NFL.
“I’m focused on UNC right now absolutely,” Belichick said, via Brian Murphy of WRAL. “I’ve recruited these kids, two years with them, been with these guys. I want to help them. I had a great experience in the NFL, but I’m very happy at North Carolina. I’m excited to be there. Excited about the future of our program.”
The reality is that Belichick won’t have a chance to return to the NFL unless someone wants him. Through three hiring cycles since the Patriots fired Belichick, he has had one interview.
This year, with 10 openings, his name never came up. Last year, the Raiders and Tom Brady hired Pete Carroll without taking a serious look at Belichick.
It’s difficult if not impossible to imagine Belichick back in the NFL. No fan base is clamoring for him. No front office will want to work with him. No owner will become smitten with the notion that he’ll turn an also-ran into a champion.
The bigger question is whether he’ll unlock a third season at North Carolina. If this season goes like last season for UNC, he may be SOL in 2027.
The College Football season is days away and we have games all over the world taking place. North Carolina and TCU kickoff the season in Dublin, Ireland, and NC State and Virginia were supposed to be in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, but the game was moved back to the states, giving the Wolfpack another chance to extend their winning streak in Charlottesville, Virginia. Let’s talk turkey! Here are my three best bets for Week 0 in College Football.
North Carolina vs TCU (-9.5): O/U 47.5
TCU and North Carolina kickoff the season in Dublin, Ireland and man, do I hope it’s closer than last year! The Horned Frogs demolished the Tar Heels, 48-14, which ended up being TCU’s largest win of the season and UNC’s biggest loss. The Tar Heels threw for 172 yards with two quarterbacks as the outcome was a vast disappointment for Bill Belichick in his Tar Heels debut.
I am going to focus on the passing game for UNC as it upgraded its quarterback. Belichick landed Billy Edwards Jr. who started a season at Maryland in 2024, then two games at Wisconsin in 2025, suffering injuries in both contests. It’s a bounce back season for Edwards and Belichick. The two had an entire spring and summer to work together — Belichick didn’t have that last year.
In 2024, Edwards finished with 15 passing touchdowns and seven rushing scores to go along with 2,881 passing yards and a 65% completion rate. He started the first seven games with at least 250 yards and six of those featured at least two passing touchdowns. He’s also ran for a touchdown in 10 different games during his career, so he’s mobile too.
Nine out of TCU’s 13 opponents in 2025 threw for at least two touchdowns on the Horned Frogs and 10 out of 13 quarterbacks reached at least 170 passing yards.
The market is all over TCU here and if the Horned Frogs are the much better team, then UNC will be in a trailing script meaning Edwards can reach 170-plus passing yards. If UNC is competitive or wins, I have a hard time seeing Edwards not finding some type of success through the air as well. I like Edwards at 168+ passing yards on DraftKings up to 175.5.
Pick: Billy Edwards Jr. 168+ Passing Yards (1 unit)
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North Carolina State vs Virginia (-4.5): O/U 53.5
This game was supposed to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but was rescheduled to Charlottesville, Virginia — becoming an extra home game for the Cavaliers. These two met last year in Virginia, and NC State won, 35-31. Entering this season, the ACC Preseason Poll slated Virginia at No. 5 and NC State at No. 7.
NC State scored at least 30 points in eight out of 13 games last season and can see an improvement this year. The Wolfpack are expected to have one of their best offensive lines in a few seasons with Jayden Scott back at running back (585 rush yards, 4 TDs) alongside quarterback CJ Bailey (31 TDs, 3,320 yards). Both are ready for breakout seasons as juniors, while senior transfer Victor Snow (Buffalo, Nevada) will make an impact after 19 career touchdowns on 151 touches ranging from receptions, rushes, kickoff, and punt returns.
Last season, Virginia had J’Mari Taylor (1,062 yards, 15 TDs) at running back and Chandler Morris (3,245 yards, 21 TDs) at quarterback, which became one of the most underrated duos in the country. Both players have moved on. The Cavaliers have two quarterbacks this year, the starter Beau Pribula (Missouri, Penn State) and the backup Eli Holstein (Pitt), plus a solid offensive line with 165 career starts. Who will be the playmakers on offense? That will be the question for Virginia.
In Pribula’s final four games with Missouri last season, Pribula tallied two rushing touchdowns, zero passing scores, and four interceptions on 57.7 completion percentage. When the running game slowed down for Missouri, Pribula wasn’t nearly as effective. CJ Bailey started hot and finished hot with NC State last year. I like his upside, along with NC State’s offense more than UVA’s. I played the Wolfpack +5.5 and +4.5. I’d go down to +3.5.
Pick: North Carolina State +5.5 (1 unit)
San Jose State at USC (-38.5): O/U 61.5
San Jose State basically lost everything from last season. The Spartans have two starters back on offense and one on defense. The top five wide receivers departed, plus three lineman and the quarterback.
San Jose State added seven defensive backs in the transfer portal alone to fill that need. The Spartans will be battling for last-place in the Mountain West and should need some time to mesh. USC won’t give them that.
The Trojans have a Heisman long shot at quarterback, Jayden Maiava, one of the best running back rooms in the country, and an experienced offensive line with five of their top seven back. In the first two games of 2025, USC put up 73 points on Missouri State and 59 on Georgia Southern. The Trojans could do something similar to the Spartans.
There are 48.5’s and 49.5’s on USC’s Team Total floating around out there — 49 is a key number with seven touchdowns and seven extra points, so I’d opt for the 48.5. USC may not need to kick a field goal the entire game.
Pick: USC Team Total Over 48.5 (1 unit)
Week 0 Picks
1 unit: Billy Edwards 168+ Passing Yards (-116)
1 unit: USC Team Total Over 48.5 (-135)
1 unit: NC State +5.5 (-122)
My Week 0 College Football Articles:
Top 10 Heisman Rankings
Top 5 Heisman Long Shots
Top 25 Poll
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Billy Edwards Jr. figures his job is just to keep North Carolina’s offense consistently moving forward, even if it’s just one yard at a time. That approach explains the former Maryland and Wisconsin quarterback’s mindset as the Tar Heels’ starter in NFL coaching great Bill Belichick’s second college season.
“One of the phrases I got taught as a younger player that kind of stuck with me is mitigating risk,” Edwards said. “Like coach Belichick always says: ’We can go forward, and the only way we can go forward is by not going backwards.”
Belichick named Edwards as his starting quarterback for the Week Zero game against TCU in Dublin, Ireland, which will mark his return from an injury-shortened year with the Badgers.
Edwards started his career with a redshirt season at Wake Forest in 2021 before playing three seasons at Maryland, where he thew for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. He transferred to Wisconsin last year looking for “a different fit,” only to appear in just two games.
Edwards suffered a knee sprain in the opener against Miami (Ohio) and missed two games. He then returned to play against his former Terrapins program, only to exit on his second series.
Edwards threw just 16 passes last season, then carried his focus on consistency into his recovery.
“In the portal, you’re evaluating the ’24 season,” Belichick said. “That’s pretty much all you had other than that one game last year. But being here all spring was a big advantage for him.”
Edwards will be at the forefront of UNC’s offensive overhaul with the hiring of new coordinator Bobby Petrino after the Tar Heels fielded one of the nation’s worst offenses in Belichick’s debut season last year. Edwards said he leaned into “making like 1,000 flash cards” to study Petrino’s offense and make sure he had the playbook down pat.
The first quiz comes against the Horned Frogs, who beat UNC 48-14 in Belichick’s college debut last September.
“It’s kind of humbling when you come in the beginning and you get new terminology and you get a new playbook,” Edwards said. “But I find it really fun, I find it really enjoyable.”
Some schools, like Notre Dame, aren’t exploring the addition of players from the class of 2022 who end up getting a fifth year of eligibility through the court system. Others, like LSU, are.
North Carolina is one of the ones that are.
Coach Bill Belichick recently acknowledged that the Tar Heels are considering the possibility of making eleventh-hour additions to the roster.
“We’ve looked at a number of them,” Belichick said Friday. “Each case is a little bit different. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I don’t think there’s anything we’re counting on, but we’re always open to anything that will help the team.”
With G.M. Michael Lombardi on paid leave due to an internal investigation, it’s unclear who’s spearheading the effort. Regardless, the effort is underway.
For coaches like Lane Kiffin of LSU, it’s about putting the finishing touches on a roster that would be good enough to take the Tigers to the top of the mountain. For Belichick, who’s entering his second season after a disastrous debut, it’s about winning enough games to turn down the temperature on the hot seat.
However it goes, the clock is ticking. North Carolina opens the season six days from now, against TCU in Ireland.
Former Patriots and Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri entered the Hall of Fame on the same day that former Patriots and Browns coach Bill Belichick should have been getting his own bronze bust.
Belichick wasn’t present for Saturday’s enshrinement ceremony. But Vinatieri mentioned the coach in his speech.
“I thought it was because training camp had already started,” Vinatieri said regarding Belichick’s absence, “but in truth it’s because he is judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition.”
Vinatieri followed the jab with a bouquet: “All jokes aside, in my opinion Bill is the greatest coach of all time.”
It’s the second straight Hall of Fame weekend that included an honoree taking a shot at Belichick’s May/next-December romance.
In 2025, Bill Nunn award recipient Mary Kay Cabot, in reflecting on his skirmishes with Belichick when he coached the Browns, said this: “Now I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time,” Cabot said. “I was 28 at the time and he just couldn’t relate to a woman that old.”
Next year, Belichick should get his chance to take a few shots when he finally gets his opportunity to give an acceptance speech.
Implicit in the phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is this basic truth.
If it’s broke, grab the freakin’ toolbox.
To date, the Hall of Fame has made no changes to the convoluted voting process that kept former Patriots coach Bill Belichick out of the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Hall of Fame’s board of directors holds its annual meeting during enshrinement weekend — and it’s “likely” that the board will consider potential changes to the current protocol at that time.
Currently, the candidates nominated by the Coach Blue Ribbon Committee, the Contributor Blue Ribbon Committee, and the Seniors Blue Ribbon Committee land in the same bucket, and compete with each other.
For 2026, coach Bill Belichick, contributor Robert Kraft, and senior players Roger Craig, Ken Anderson, and L.C. Greenwood created a five-candidate menu from which the 50 votes picked three. To get in, the candidate had to appear on 80 percent of the ballots (i.e., 40).
The candidates didn’t receive a standalone, up-or-down vote. If Belichick had gotten that, he’d surely be getting a bronze bust this weekend.
He should be anyway. If the task was to pick three from a list that included Belichick, Kraft, Craig, Anderson, and Greenwood, Belichick (and it was), Belichick should have been on all 50 ballots, with the voters’ real work confined to picking the next two.
The fact that Belichick was omitted makes the entire process look bad. And it highlights the need for a different set of rules for getting in. And the Hall of Fame should have realized the moment that Belichick didn’t get at least 40 votes that something was very, very wrong.
That should have been enough for someone to sound the alarm, and to intervene before all hell broke loose in a way that did irreparable damage to the Hall of Fame’s reputation.
Which in turn tarnishes the Shield. Even though Commissioner Roger Goodell insisted after the Belichick debacle that the NFL doesn’t control the Hall of Fame, it’s hardly a passive observer.
Goodell, the most powerful man in the sport at any level, is on the board of directors. Seven owners are, too.
If they aren’t exercising enough influence to prevent embarrassing results, they should be. At Friday’s meeting, hopefully they will.
As North Carolina coach Bill Belichick prepares for his second season at the college level, one of his top assistants (and one of his sons) is currently not with the team.
Via Andrea Adelson of ESPN, Belichick announced on Thursday that defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is on medical leave indefinitely.
Bill Belichick shared no other details.
As to whether Steve Belichick will be back for the season opener on August 29 in Ireland, Bill Belichick said only that the Tar Heels “look forward to getting him back as soon as possible.”
No interim defensive coordinator will be named, for now.
“We coach defense collectively as a staff and we will continue to do that,” Bill Belichick said.
Also on leave, due to an internal investigation, is North Carolina G.M. Michael Lombardi.
Steve Belichick worked for Bill with the Patriots from 2012 through 2023. In 2024, Steve served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington. He joined UNC when Bill took the job in 2025.
Bill Belichick rarely has much to say, about anything. (Unless, of course, the subject is the evolution of interior offensive line play in the single-wing offense.)
Regarding the placement of his G.M./consigliere Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave, Belichick didn’t have much to say.
“We’re at a particular time of the year now where there are certain things that are in play, and certain things that are in play that will happen later in the calendar year,” Belichick said regarding the manner in which Lombardi’s duties are being delegated internally. “So we’re taking it day to day and work through the things that are on the table right now.”
Belichick also said, as to how the absence of Lombardi impact Belichick’s job, “We’ve made a few adjustments, yeah. But I mean we’re, you know, we’re working through the process.”
It’s no surprise. North Carolina has made it clear that mum will be the word regarding the investigation that sparked Lombardi’s placement on immediate leave.
Still, the school clearly isn’t pleased that it’s dealing with the Lombardi situation.
“I’m disappointed that we’re talking about this,” UNC chancellor Lee Roberts said Thursday, via David Hale of ESPN. “We should be focusing on our student-athletes and on their success. . . . It’s distressing to me and everyone else in the administration entrusted with leadership at this remarkable university that this is something we have to spend time on.”
While the outcome of the investigation and any impact on Lombardi’s employment status remain to be seen, it currently feels like he won’t be back. And few tears will be shed over that.
As recently explained by Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing, the downfall of Lombardi has united sports media in a way few things can. For example, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic eviscerated Lombardi: “Arrogance plus incompetence is a lethal combination.”
None of this surprises anyone who followed Lombardi’s NFL career — especially after Pablo Torre devoted an episode of his podcast last year to taking a closer look at some of the claims Lombardi has made about his role in building Super Bowl champions.
Lombardi’s role in the disaster that has been Belichick’s dalliance in college football is undeniable. And Lombardi’s involvement very well could be over.
Which actually could make things better in Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina coach Bill Belichick opened his second preseason camp saying the program is adjusting internal duties with general manager Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave and the subject of a school investigation.
“We’re working through some things,” Belichick said before the morning’s first official practice. “We’re at a particular time of year now where there are certain things that are in play and certain things that aren’t in play that won’t happen until later in the calendar year at some other point.
“Again, we’re taking it day to day, and working through the things that are on the table now.”
The school announced that Lombardi had been placed on leave but didn’t provide details as to the reason, noting that employees and athletes aren’t permitted to address the topic “as is standard procedure with personnel matters.” About 30 minutes before Belichick spoke to reporters, UNC released another statement that said its Office of University Counsel was conducting an investigation.
Belichick didn’t specify exactly how Lombardi’s duties have been divided among the staff, including referencing “a few adjustments” when asked how much the GM’s absence was changing his own daily tasks.
Lombardi was an immediate addition by Belichick, who was hired as a first-time college coach in December 2024 after leading the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. Lombardi’s career as an NFL executive had included being the GM of the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
