There's really only one word to use when talking about Bill Belichick's tenure thus far as the North Carolina head coach: disaster.
Well, maybe a second word, too: hilarious.
I suppose it depends on which end of Tobacco Road you happen to live on.
Belichick's first season as UNC's head coach finished at just 4-8. Since then, signs of progress have been few and far between. To get a better example of how the legendary NFL coach has fared so far in college, CBS' ranking of all 68 Power Four head coaches had Belichick at No. 63, which was dead-last among those who were head coaches a year ago. The only ones ranked lower are first-timers.
There's little optimism that things are going to be better this year than they were last year. One of the small rays of sunshine, however, was the surprising February addition of Western Carolina QB Taron Dickens, who put up ridiculous numbers at the FCS level and seemed poised to be a real contender to start at QB for the Tar Heels in 2026. His main competition appeared to be a moldy piece of toast and an old lawn chair.
Now, those two might be the last ones standing for Belichick to choose from.
On Friday, news broke that Dickens would not be enrolling at North Carolina after all. Rumors persist that on his drive over, the overpowering stench emanating from Chapel Hill caused him to turn his car around. Those are unsubstantiated, though.
Manny Diaz has the potential to put Duke on a major run in the series against UNC
Manny Diaz is 2-0 against North Carolina so far, and that includes a road win in Chapel Hill over Belichick and the Heels last season. In 2026, UNC has to come to Duke, and there appears to be little evidence right now to suggest that Duke's two-game winning streak in the series could be in jeopardy.
Even with Duke losing star QB Darian Mensah to the Transfer Portal in the 11th hour, either San Jose State transfer Walker Eget or redshirt freshman Dan Mahan should be more than good enough to beat UNC next year. Diaz has built a more sustainable program, one with a roster that is top-to-bottom just flat out better than Carolina's right now.
Duke's longest win streak in series history was seven games from 1950-56. Perhaps Diaz could get the Blue Devils on a run against the Heels right now that would rival that, or better yet, rival UNC's 13-game winning streak in the series from 1990-2002.
The only concern with that is soon enough, you have to figure UNC is going to realize what a total bust the Belichick era is and will cut their losses and move on. Though if another coaching search goes as hilariously as the one that landed on Belichick to begin with - or as poorly as the basketball search we just saw transpire in Chapel Hill, Duke fans probably don't have anything to worry about anyway.
Add us as a preferred source on Google