North Carolina’s trip to Ireland is supposed to be about football, even if the offseason noise has made that harder than anyone in Chapel Hill would like.
The Tar Heels open Year 2 under Bill Belichick on Saturday against TCU in the annual Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, with a fresh start on the field and plenty of baggage left behind. North Carolina’s headline-grabbing hire of the former NFL powerhouse produced a 4-8 season, and the summer only added more turbulence.
Belichick’s general manager and close confidant Michael Lombardi was placed on leave after a human resources complaint. Then defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the head coach’s son, went on an indefinite medical leave earlier this month and will not travel with the team, the school said Monday.
Still, if there’s one coach built to cut through the chaos, it’s the man who won six Super Bowls.
"There's just no shortcut to it. You just have to keep stacking bricks and building that strong foundation," Bill Belichick said.
The quarterback battle finally came into focus after a long quiet stretch. Belichick said the opener will go to transfer Billy Edwards Jr., beating out Miles O'Neil for the job. The coach made it clear that ball security was a major factor in the decision.
"I've said that about Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback in NFL history," Belichick said. "As great as Tom was, and he was great, he made a lot of great plays but the most important thing he did was he eliminated the bad ones."
Edwards will have at least one dependable target in Jordan Shipp, but the rest of the offense remains something of a work in progress as North Carolina settles into a new system.
The Tar Heels averaged only 19.3 points per game in 2025, so Belichick brought in Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator to help jump-start that side of the ball. Getting the run game going is a priority, and Petrino, who finished 2025 as Arkansas’ interim head coach, also previously recruited O'Neil to Texas A&M.
TCU, meanwhile, arrives with a much steadier recent résumé. The Horned Frogs went 9-4 last season and won the Alamo Bowl, though they had to replace starting quarterback Josh Hoover, who transferred to Indiana. They do bring back leading rusher Jeremy Payne, who ran for 623 yards.
Sonny Dykes said his staff has studied North Carolina’s new personnel - Belichick brought in 60 new players - but the Horned Frogs’ coach said the first game is mostly about the team staring back at itself.
"Anytime you play the first game, it's always really about yourself," Dykes said. "It's about taking care of the football on offense and being sound in the kicking game and not making those really critical mistakes, playing clean from a penalty standpoint.
"All those things early are incredibly important because there is a feeling-out period that takes place."
TCU’s new quarterback is Harvard transfer Jaden Craig, who brings mobility and a reputation for taking care of the ball. He has scored 11 rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons, and Dykes said Craig has barely put the ball in harm’s way during camp.
"He's turned the ball over twice, I think, the entire fall camp, and it's been two tipped balls," Dykes said. "...
He's had a really good camp. I mean, he's in command of the offense."
In Other News...
TCU Opens With One Sudden Test For Sonny Dykes New-Look Team
TCUs season opener against North Carolina already had plenty of intrigue with a new offensive coordinator in Gordon Sammis, a pro-style system to install and Harvard transfer Jaden Craig taking the first snap at quarterback. Now the Horned Frogs head into the game with another change in the secondary after announcing the dismissal of senior free safety Jacob Fields for a violation of team rules, a late shift that adds one more wrinkle to a roster still settling into a new look.
Senior Jordan Lester is set to start at free safety in Fields place, giving TCU a quick answer at a spot that will be tested right away. For Sonny Dykes, the opener was always going to be an early measuring stick for how smoothly the new pieces fit together, and the loss of a veteran defender only raises the stakes for a team trying to balance a fresh offense with enough stability on defense to get through the first big challenge. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Has The Talent To Shake Up The Big 12 Again
The Big 12 is headed into another season with the usual mix of uncertainty and opportunity, and TCU has a familiar place in that conversation. With Texas Tech sitting as the reigning champion and the early favorite in the conference, the Frogs are part of a group of teams trying to close the gap in a league that rarely settles into a neat hierarchy for long. Returning players, coaching changes and shifting expectations across the conference only add to the sense that there is plenty of room for movement near the top.
For TCU, that matters because the program has shown it can get into the mix when the pieces line up, and the talent level is once again good enough to make people look twice. The broader Big 12 preview paints a picture of a league where no contender is safe and no outsider is out of it, which is exactly the kind of setting that has suited the Frogs before. The real question is whether this group can turn that talent into the kind of week-to-week consistency that separates a decent season from one that changes the league race. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Gets First Shot At UNCs New-Look Offensive Fix
North Carolina has settled on Billy Edwards Jr. as its starter for the season opener against TCU in Dublin, giving the Tar Heels a veteran hand as they begin a new chapter on offense. Edwards earned the job over other candidates because of his experience and consistency, and his first assignment comes with plenty of pressure attached. Bobby Petrino is in as the new offensive coordinator, and the staff is banking on a cleaner, more reliable attack after last season's struggles.
For TCU, the matchup offers an immediate look at how far UNCs offensive reset has come before the calendar even gets serious. Opening in Dublin adds a little extra unpredictability, but the bigger storyline is whether Edwards can steady a unit that needs a better start right away. The Horned Frogs get the first crack at that answer, and it should tell them a lot about how much the Tar Heels have changed. [Read more 🡒]