When North Carolina arrives at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, coach Bill Belichick’s reputation will precede him.
The Tar Heels are in Pittsburgh to face No. 25 Pitt (5-0, 2-0 ACC), the first time Belichick will have faced the Panthers since taking over in Chapel Hill ahead of the 2025 campaign.
For some on Pitt’s roster, being somewhat in awe of Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, will be an inescapable component of Saturday’s showdown.
“It is kind of crazy. Bill Belichick, he’s 100% a legend,” defensive end Isaiah Neal said. “To do that much winning, you’ve got to be doing something right.”
For Neal, Belichick’s presence alone creates an expectation of the Tar Heels (2-2, 0-1) being organized and capable of sound execution.
“What that does for me as a player who has to go against him? I know that whatever we’re going to see this week is A-game,” Neal continued. “It’s top-of-the-top A-game. Because look at who their coach is. Look at his production. The proof is in the pudding. It does tighten me up a little bit. Am I excited to have a good day against Bill Belichick? One hundred percent. But I’m excited to go out there and have a good game every game.”
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi believes the ACC is populated by some pretty good coaches.
Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, a former assistant of Belichick’s in New England who later went on to coach the Houston Texans, possesses a respectable NFL resume.
Dabo Swinney of Clemson, the ACC’s longest-tenured coach, is also arguably its most successful, being a two-time national champion.
But Belichick brings a decidedly different pedigree, having built New England into a dynasty, with nine Super Bowl appearances from 2000-23.
That said, Belichick’s transition to college football hasn’t been without bumps.
North Carolina went 4-8 last season and, off the field, the Tar Heels program has been hampered by controversy.
This season alone, general manager Michael Lombardi plus Belichick’s son, Steve, who was serving as defensive coordinator, both resigned in the wake of internal UNC conduct investigations.
Still, Narduzzi sees the Belichick-led Tar Heels as a program on the rise.
“You look at where North Carolina was a year ago to where they are now, they’re stronger,” Narduzzi said. “Physically, (Belichick has) gotten good football players out there and has done a good job recruiting and getting the team the way he wants it. Maybe it didn’t happen the way he wanted a year ago, but he’s obviously turned it up and done a nice job of recruiting and bringing that Carolina team back to where it should be.”
Belichick will soon return to a venue with which he’s intimately familiar.
As coach of the Patriots, Belichick went 8-3 vs. the Steelers in Pittsburgh, including wins in 2022 and 2023.
Belichick’s Patriots also ended the Steelers’ 2001 and 2004 seasons with AFC championship victories at what was then known as Heinz Field.
Ultimately, reputations and prior accomplishments will be out of sight and mind beginning at noon Saturday.
Pitt has a game to win, and the Tar Heels are simply the Panthers’ weekly obstacle.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” Narduzzi said of Belichick. “The guy’s won six Super Bowls. He’s a legend. But coaching is coaching. He’s had a great opportunity in his life to coach and you’ve got to respect that, but you don’t prepare any different. He’s not going to play. He’s making his decisions on the sideline, (and) we’ve got decisions to make.”
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