With the basketball season over and baseball in the middle of its season, North Carolina's next big adventure will be the 2025 football season. The Tar Heels made waves in college football with the hiring of former NFL coach and analyst Bill Belichick. Now, UNC football has made its way onto ESPN's Top 10 most intriguing college football teams heading into spring football.
According to Bill Connelly from ESPN, "They're interesting because of who's leading it. Bill Belichick became one of the sport's most innovative defensive coordinators with his 3-4 attack with the New York Giants in the 1980s, then won six Super Bowls as New England's head coach in the 21st century. Now, at 72, he'll try to win as a college coach.
Belichick is the first Super Bowl-winning head coach to try his luck in college since Bill Walsh returned to Stanford in the 1990s. Depending on how kind you are, Belichick has surrounded himself with either known entities or yes-men: two Belichicks (defensive coordinator Steve, DBs coach Brian), two Lombardis (general manager Michael, quarterbacks coach Matt), and other key former NFL assistants (offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer).
He has raved about enjoying popping pads and yelling at tight ends, and he's regarded as a good enough teacher that, for all we know, this unheralded roster might develop well and thrive. Or not. I have no idea how to set expectations for this."
North Carolina and their staff still have plenty of work to do before getting ready to open another season of Tar Heels football. However, when you put one of the most successful coaches in history at the helm of the ship, how array can it possibly go? UNC football fans are going to find out the answer to that question in the coming months.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC football among ESPN's top 10 most intriguing spring CFB teams
