Where Does Tar Heels' Bill Belichick Rank in ACC?

There have been a lot of things being said about the North Carolina football program, but most of the conversation has been around its new head coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick was hired by UNC on Dec.12 to get the Tar Heels to become a contender for the ACC title year in and year out. It’s also possible that he was hired so UNC could make a move to the SEC. Regardless of the reasoning, Belichick's resume might be the best among current active coaches regardless of level.

He began building his legacy with the New York Giants during their 1980s heyday under head coach Bill Parcells. Belichick served as the team's linebackers coach from 1980 to 1984, playing a key role in the development of former Carolina great Lawrence Taylor — widely regarded as one of the most feared defenders in NFL history. In 1985, Belichick was promoted to defensive coordinator, a position he held through the 1990 season. During that span, he helped guide the Giants to two Super Bowl titles.

While his head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns didn’t go as planned, his stint with the Patriots did. Belichick led the New England Patriots to a 266-121 record with nine Super Bowl appearances, winning six — both marks are the most by any head coach in NFL history. In addition, his 19 playoff appearances, 31 postseason victories, and 17 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins are all NFL records.

However, Chip Patterson of CBS Sports recently released his ACC coach rankings for 2025, placing Bill Belichick 12th out of the 17 head coaches in the conference. While the ranking might raise eyebrows given Belichick’s NFL pedigree, Patterson had legitimate reasons for the placement.

"In all our years of compiling the CBS Sports Coach Rankings, no profile has been more difficult to place than Belichick's," Patterson said. "On one hand, he's considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history with six Super Bowl titles. On the other, he hasn't been involved in college football since playing at Wesleyan University in the 1970s. North Carolina is betting that Belichick's leadership will translate to the college level. If it does, the cloud of doubt could lift quickly with a major jump in next year's rankings. For now, he's held back by his inexperience in the college game."

To Patterson's credit, Belichick has never coached college football while the rest on the list have and in the ACC. He may not know what UNC holds, but a lot of people don't.

Joel Klatt of Fox Sports believes Belichick cam get the job done.

"I don't think Bill Belichick cares what all the noise is this offseason, what people are talking about, who they're talking about," Klatt said. "I think he cares about getting this roster, the team, the players, to believe they can go out there and just do their job. And if you do that, in that conference against that schedule, I don't think anyone's running away from them. So, there's a good chance this is a team that's going to be in a lot of games they play."

Now things must come together for UNC.