Bill Belichick’s first year at the helm of the North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t exactly go according to script. After arriving in Chapel Hill with the weight of six Super Bowl rings and a reputation as one of the greatest minds in football history, Belichick’s debut season ended in a thud - a 4-8 record and an offense that looked stuck in neutral for most of the year.
Now, as the program turns the page to Year 2, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is offering a clear-eyed assessment of what needs to change - and fast.
Speaking on the Nonstop podcast, Herbstreit didn’t mince words: if North Carolina wants to climb out of the ACC basement, it starts with fixing the offense. That means hitting the transfer portal with urgency and purpose.
“I’m sure North Carolina is going to be incredibly active on trying to bring in quarterbacks and skill players and offensive linemen,” Herbstreit said. “They’ve got to get their offense going.”
And he’s right. The numbers paint a bleak picture - just 19.2 points per game, ranking 121st nationally.
The Tar Heels broke the 30-point mark only once all season, and that came against an FCS opponent. For a team coached by one of the sharpest defensive minds in football history, the lack of offensive firepower was glaring.
Belichick’s defense can only do so much when the offense is sputtering week after week.
Help may be on the way in the form of veteran offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, whose addition is expected to bring a much-needed spark to the unit. Petrino’s name always stirs a reaction - his career has been anything but quiet - but when it comes to designing offenses, his reputation is hard to argue with.
“As far as drawing up plays, Bobby Petrino - you talk to the coaching fraternity across the country - there’s skill people that look at him as one of the better offensive minds in the game,” Herbstreit said.
That’s a sentiment echoed by fellow analyst Joey Galloway, who also sees Petrino as a potential game-changer for a program desperate for offensive identity.
The hope is that Petrino can inject creativity and tempo into a unit that lacked both last season. But even the best play-callers need talent to work with, and that’s where the portal becomes critical. Whether it's a quarterback to lead the charge, linemen to keep him upright, or weapons on the outside to stretch the field, North Carolina has to reload - not just rebuild.
The urgency is real, and the pressure isn’t going anywhere. The Tar Heels open next season with a high-profile matchup in Ireland against TCU, a program that’s no stranger to explosive offense. It’s a unique stage - and a tough test - that will immediately show whether Belichick’s team has turned a corner.
For now, the storyline in Chapel Hill is clear: Belichick’s defense might be in good hands, but if the offense doesn’t take a massive step forward, Year 2 could feel a lot like Year 1.