The North Carolina Tar Heels have long been a basketball school. That's their bread and butter, while football occasionally has some flashes of brilliance. Otherwise, they are lagging behind on the gridiron, being ranked CBS Sports' number seven most overrated program of the last decade.
They're 8-18 against ranked opponents during that time, and they are just 68-60 in that time. This is despite solid recruiting. CBS insider David Cobb thinks it might've been a coaching issue and wonders if the university has solved it.
"The Tar Heels started the 2015-24 span with their high-water mark of 11-3 under Larry Fedora. After Fedora went 5-18 in his final two seasons, UNC turned to Mack Brown," Cobb said. "He produced three straight top-15 recruiting classes from 2020-22 and some elite quarterback play with Sam Howell and Drake Maye."
Unfortunately, though, that's where the praise for Brown ends. His teams never got to 10 wins despite having Howell and Maye, an eventual top-three draft pick. The teams under Brown always faded down the stretch, too. Brown wasn't the guy to take them to the next level.
"North Carolina has risen into the top 15 of the AP poll at some point in five of the past nine seasons but has finished ranked just once. Given the recruiting success, quarterback talent and quality of competition, it's hard to blame North Carolina for wanting more. Is Bill Belichick the coach who can provide it?" Cobb concluded.
It remains to be seen what the answer to that question is. Belichick is a total unknown at the college level, but it's clear UNC has not been totally thrilled with the coaching and wants to finally solidify that part of the program.