Bill Belichick has never been one for small challenges. After a legendary 29-season-long career in the NFL, the GOAT’s decision to take the reins at an ACC sleeper – North Carolina Tar Heels – sent shockwaves through the sport. That’s not just because of the name, but because of the fit. Belichick, the meticulous tactician known for his no-nonsense approach, is now leading a program that has long been an afterthought in a basketball-first school. His first order of business? Laying the foundation for what he hopes will become a championship-caliber culture.

That starts with a staff built for familiarity and continuity, mixing trusted NFL names with key holdovers, like former UNC star Natrone Means. It’s not an overnight process, and Belichick isn’t treating it like one — but he’s making it clear that this is no retirement tour. However, before anything, ESPN sportscaster Greg McElroy pointed out, there’s an ‘adjustment’ period ahead that the 73-year-old HC coach will have to make.

College football, despite its increasing professionalization through NIL and the transfer portal, is still a different beast. “It will require some adjustments from Bill Belichick,” McElroy said on his Always College Football podcast. “He’s only ever dealt with pros, and now dealing with college kids, even though we’ve morphed a little bit more towards becoming professional and how our sport settles things out, it’s still college kids and their overall grasp and understanding isn’t necessarily always what you’re going to get with true professionals.” That’s the key. In the NFL, players are expected to treat football as their job. At UNC, Belichick will be coaching 18- to 22-year-olds balancing school, social lives, and the distractions that come with campus life.

The chess game he mastered in the NFL won’t change, but the pieces he’s moving will require a different approach. Bill Belichick, of course, sees the parallels between coaching rookies and college players. When asked about the transition, he framed it in familiar terms: “Similar to like what a rookie minicamp would be… granted those kids are a little bit older, but they’re coming from all different programs and different situations.” That’s how he’s treating it — like an extended NFL developmental process, where players arrive raw and need time to be molded. That perspective may be what helps him adjust, but it won’t eliminate the inevitable learning curve.

There will be moments where Belichick’s famously icy stare is met with blank faces in film sessions, moments where college players aren’t executing the way he envisions. But if anyone is prepared to grind through those early frustrations, it’s him. One early distraction has already been avoided. North Carolina was reportedly in the mix to be featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks, but that possibility has been shut down. And according to McElroy, that’s a major win for the Tar Heels. “I look at Hard Knocks, and this deal has now fallen through, they’re not going to do it,” he said. “I think this is really beneficial for UNC. The last thing North Carolina needs to do at this point is to become a sideshow.” He’s right. While Hard Knocks can be compelling television, it often turns programs into storylines rather than serious contenders.

UNC is still laying its foundation under Belichick, and turning its inaugural season into a media spectacle would have been counterproductive. McElroy emphasized that this is about UNC football taking its next step. “North Carolina is taking major steps toward trying to create a legitimately national championship competitive football program… the commitment has not always been there because football in Chapel Hill has always taken the backseat to what the basketball team needs to be.” That’s the core of it — UNC football has long been second fiddle, and if Belichick is going to change that, distractions need to be minimized.

That doesn’t mean he’s erasing UNC’s identity. If anything, Belichick is embracing it. He understands that for North Carolina to build something sustainable, it has to maintain the connection to its past. “We want all of our alumni to come back, both football players and non-football players, other people who are part of the program and supporters of the program,” he said. That’s not just lip service. Culture is a massive part of what makes a CFB program thrive, and by keeping former players like Means on staff, Belichick is signaling that he’ll bring an NFL-level intensity.

His version of the Tar Heels won’t be a carbon copy of the Patriots — it’ll be something uniquely Carolina, just with Belichick’s fingerprints all over it. The expectations for Year 1 should be realistic. This isn’t a situation where he’s inheriting a ready-made juggernaut.

Bill Belichick knows UNC year one won’t be a cakewalk

The GOAT isn’t walking into a championship-ready powerhouse — and he knows it. The legendary coach is keeping expectations measured as he builds this program from the ground up.

“I don’t really have any expectations,” Belichick told ESPN’s David Hale on Wednesday. “It’s going to be up to each individual. I know we’ve got a good plan, I know we can do the right things to put a good product on the field. Everybody that buys into it and wants to be a part of it, will be a part of it. And if they don’t, they can go somewhere else. That’s their decision.” Translation? This is a no-nonsense operation. Either get on board or find another train.

Belichick’s squad isn’t exactly brimming with experience, especially at quarterback. Purdue transfer Ryan Browne and true freshman Bryce Baker are raw talents, while Max Johnson — the most seasoned guy in the room — is coming off a broken leg that cut his 2024 season short. The recruiting class isn’t flashy either, ranked No. 41 nationally per 247Sports’ composite rankings. But Belichick isn’t panicking. “We’re starting to put everything together—here’s how we do things, here’s what our expectations are, this is what you need to do to be successful,” he said.