Who is the Tar Heels' & Bill Belichick's Assistant Coach Bob Diaco?

Bob Diaco goes from the SEC to the ACC in one offseason, as he will lead the defensive line and assist Bill Belichick in keeping opposing offenses in check. The Tar Heels will need to have major improvements in order to turn the tide and not end with another 6-7 record it held at the end of last season.

Given the quarterback situation, with Coach Belichick looking for someone new to line up underneath center, not named Jacolby Criswell, who steered the ship last season, or perhaps Drake Maye (now in the NFL), it seems to be Gio Lopez who will get the nod, courtesy of the ACC Kickoff attendees' announcement.

Below is more insight about Diaco and his prior experiences that has led to his job at North Carolina, shared on GoHeels:

"Bob Diaco, the winner of the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in 2012, joined the Carolina staff in the spring of 2025 as the Defensive Line Coach for the Tar Heels.

Diaco arrives in Chapel Hill after spending the last two seasons at LSU.

Diaco is a former head coach at Connecticut and reunited with LSU head coach Brian Kelly for the fourth time of his coaching career when he joined the Tiger coaching staff in the spring of 2023.

Prior to arriving at LSU, Diaco coached the defensive line for the New Jersey Generals in the USFL for two seasons.

A native of Cedar Grove, N.J., Diaco previously served on Kelly’s staff at Central Michigan (2005), Cincinnati (2009) and Notre Dame (2010-13).

In 2005 at Central Michigan, Diaco was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Chippewas who went 6-5 and had only the second winning season for the school in over a decade.

After two years coaching linebackers and special teams at Virginia, Diaco rejoined Kelly in 2009 at Cincinnati, helping the Bearcats to a 12-0 mark during the regular season and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

From 2010 to 2013, Diaco was regarded as one of the nation’s top defensive coordinators during his time at Notre Dame when he led the Irish defense under Kelly. At Notre Dame, Diaco helped lead the Irish to multiple bowl appearances, including the 2012 national championship game, while also being named the winner of the Broyles Award (nation’s top assistant coach) in 2012 and a semifinalist in 2011. In addition to his defensive coordinator role, Diaco also held the title of assistant head coach in 2012 and 2013."

The season approaches closer and closer by the day, and there's only so much time for Diaco to have the defensive line up to par before the first bout on Monday, September 1 against TCU.

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