Steve Belichick Is Responsible for Reforming the Tar Heels Defense

There is no question new North Carolina Tar Heels' coach Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches of all time. Should there be any question, please refer to his six Super Bowl rings and the litany of players he coaches who became All-Pro including the GOAT, quarterback Tom Brady.

But, what about his son Steve. Steve Belichick comes in to serve as the defensive coordinator. He inherits a defense which brought tremendous pressure on the quarterback, but played extremely inconsistent. They suffered by being on the field too long and not being able to get off the field on third down.

They did allow 21 points or less on six different occasions. However, James Madison put up a 70-spot against the Tar Heels. Georgia Tech hit them for 41. In fact, they closed out the season by getting blown out by Connecticut and surrendering 103 points in its final three contests.

The central piece of the defense was Beau Atkinson, who transferred to Ohio State. However, the cupboard is not bare as the Tar Heels had the No. 8 transfer portal recruiting class in the offseason. Pryce Yates, who torched the Tar Heels when Connecticut played them last season, will enter as a transfer portal candidate who will take over on the edge. He will be bookended by Smith Vilbert from Penn State and Meikart Abou-Jaoude from Delaware, who will rotate on the other edge position.

CJ Mims transfers in from East Carolina and he will more than likely inherit the nose tackle position. D'Andre Robinson comes in from Florida and should see playing time at one of the interior defensive line positions. He will battle for the spot vacated by Rodney Lora, who has since departed for the University of Central Florida.

The Belichicks completely overhauled the linebacking position. They added Khmouri House from Washington and Mikal Gbayor from Nebraska while losing Amare Campbell who transferred to Penn State. Evan Bennett is a 230-pound monster who is young and will supply some depth to the unit.

The best unit of the defense is the secondary, which was a bone of contention last season. Safeties Will Hardy and Kaleb Cost had combined for 97 stops while cornerback Marcus Allen chimed in with two interceptions and 36 tackles.

Perhaps the best player of the unit is Thaddeus Dixon, a true shut-down corner who transferred in from Washington, and played for Steve Belichick last season with the Huskies. He broke up 18 passes over the last two years. Finally, East Carolina's Gavin Gibson will add more pack to the punch as he will be roaming the back of the secondary from his safety position.

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