Legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick is entering his first season as the head coach at North Carolina, and some other head coaches around the ACC are expecting big things from the Tar Heels in 2025. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi told reporters on Wednesday at ACC Football Kickoff that he's expecting UNC to be in the ACC Championship game.
"I expect them to be in the championship game against Pitt this year," Narduzzi told reporters at ACC Football Kickoff. "You got Bill Belichick, you better be, right?"
A UNC vs. Pitt ACC Championship isn't a matchup many around college football are expecting, but Narduzzi is calling his shot early.
Now, Belichick, entering his first season with the Tar Heels, is one of the biggest storylines around college football, and it hasn't come without drama throughout the offseason. However, there's no doubt there are serious expectations around the program after bringing in potentially the greatest coach in NFL history.
Belichick wasted no time throwing shade at the Duke football program in his first interview, telling reporters he was always told his first words were "beat Duke."
The Heels don't play the Blue Devils until the end of the regular season in Chapel Hill, but that will be a highly anticipated matchup, especially if both programs are sitting towards the top of the ACC standings at that point.
In Phil Steele's 2025 ACC preseason poll, he slotted the Blue Devils at No. 6 and the Tar Heels all the way down at No. 13.
A lot of North Carolina's offseason was spent settling the air with Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson. It was reported earlier this offseason that Hudson had been banned from all UNC facilities. However, UNC denied this, and Belichick had to clarify that his relationship with the 24-year-old was completely separate from the football program.
With the off-the-field noise out of the way, Belichick now looks to deliver a winning season to a Tar Heels program that went 6-7 in 2024. With plenty of ACC squads with the ability to overperform expectations in 2025, Belichick has his work cut out for him.