Dec 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick holds up the sweatshirt worn by his father when he was an assistant coach at New North Carolina Tar Heels new at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

UNC's Belichick, TCU's Dykes Share Similarities Despite Differences

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Grant Chachere | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 12:00 PM ET

If you look at North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick and TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, they seem like completely different coaches.

Belichick is regarded as one of football’s greatest defensive masterminds, serving as the architect of the New York Giants’ famed “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” and later building the New England Patriots’ defenses that helped capture six Lombardi Trophies. Dykes, meanwhile, is a disciple of the late Mike Leach, and wherever he has been a head coach, his teams have consistently featured one of the nation’s top passing attacks.

Dykes, like many around the country, was shocked that he took a college coaching gig, let alone one at North Carolina.

“Yeah, I was surprised like everyone else,” Dykes said. You could’ve gotten pretty good odds a year ago that Belichick would be the coach at North Carolina. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest coaches of all time, with his record and Super Bowl success in New England.”

When the two masterminds face off against each other in Chapel Hill, their differences will be brought up. However, the similarities between the two are noteworthy.

Coaching Runs in the Family

Belichick’s father, Steve, was a longtime collegiate assistant coach, most notably spending 33 years at Navy from 1956 to 1989. He also coached at North Carolina earlier in his career. Belichick’s sons have followed him into the profession. Stephen Belichick is currently the defensive coordinator, while Brian Belichick serves as safeties coach at North Carolina.

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes also comes from a football family. His father, Spike Dykes, was the legendary head coach at Texas Tech from 1986 to 1999. Sonny’s older brother, Rick, coached at the collegiate level, and his nephew, Casey Petree, is an assistant coach on TCU’s staff.

They Coached the Same Players

When it comes to the types of players they want in their program. Belichick has even coached several players who once played under Dykes, including Wes Welker and Danny Amendola, who were receivers when Dykes was the wide receivers coach at Texas Tech, and Rob Gronkowski, who played for Dykes during his time as offensive coordinator at Arizona from 2007 to 2009.

“A lot of my former players have played for him, including guys who coached Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, and Rob Gronkowski, who went on to have great success in New England,” Dykes said. “I think there are a lot of similarities in the type of player that we like."

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: