By R.L. Bynum
Bill Belichick was hard at work on the road Monday recruiting high school players in North Carolina along with his son, Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick.
Transfer-portal commitments keep coming as the Tar Heels’ coaching staff starts to come together.
According to multiple reports, Belichick secured his 12th transfer-portal commitment on Monday when East Carolina defensive back Gavin Gibson, who will be a senior next season, joined a fellow former Pirates player, defensive end C.J. Mims, in committing to Carolina.
Bill and Steve Belichick joined the “The Pat McAfee Show” while riding in a car on the day that UNC’s head coach joined X (formerly Twitter) with the handle @Belichick_B.
His first tweet read: “ ‘Beat Dook’ my first word as a boy are my first words on X! Go Heels!!”
“It’s really fun,” Belichick said during his weekly appearance on the ESPN show about going on X. “It really is. It’s great. It’s great to connect with these kids. They’re so enthusiastic. They see their future ahead of them, both in college football and maybe beyond that. So it’s exciting to talk to them. We’re talking to some really good players. And you know, these guys have a chance to have a long career. So I just want to be a part of it with them.”
It was the first day he was allowed under NCAA rules to go out recruiting, and he was in a coat and tie and ready to lure top high school prospects to Chapel Hill. Belichick said they visited a couple of high schools Monday morning and were scheduled to visit a couple more in the afternoon. Among the stops was Jordan High School in Durham to see four-star Class of 2026 defensive tackle/offensive guard Noah Clark and Rolesville High School to visit four-star Zavion Griffin-Haynes, a Class of 2026 star who is the No. 17-ranked Edge rusher in the country, No. 178 overall prospect in the country and No. 10 overall prospect in the state. He also visited South Garner High School.
Steve Belichick joined his dad after taking a red-eye flight a couple of days earlier from Washington, where he had been the Huskies’ defensive coordinator.
Belichick’s appearance on “The Pat McAfee” show begins at 1:28.
“Trying to build the staff, trying to build the team,” Steve Belichick said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve got to hit the road now and see what’s going to happen. Got to get some good players on the team and figure it out from here.”
In answer to a question about General Manager Mike Lombardi’s role, Bill Belichick said that the structure at Carolina is very similar to a GM’s job in the NFL. He said that the GM works closely with the coaches “in a unifying way” to produce the necessary good results for success.
“Mike’s great,” Belichick said. “He does a great job with organizing the salary cap, which now we’re kind of working under. It’s a little different [than the NFL], but it’s similar. And we’re in the high school recruiting phase as well as still in the transfer portal phase. So there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of balls in the air, but Mike can handle that. He’s one of the smartest people I know, and he handles those things very fluidly, and we’re building.”
According to multiple reports, three staff additions are expected:
— Former New England Patriots head strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabera for a similar job at UNC.
— Matt Lombardi, Michael Lombardi’s son, as an offensive assistant coach after being an offensive analyst at Oregon and working for several NFL teams (including the Carolina Panthers) before that.
— Cory Giddings, the former Central Florida Director of Player Personnel, as part of Carolina’s player development department. Giddings worked at UCF and Appalachian State with Andrew Blaylock, UNC’s Assistant Director of Player Personnel.
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| August | ||
| 29 | TBA | vs.TCU in Dublin, Ireland |
| September | ||
| 12 | TBA | vs. ETSU |
| 19 | TBA | at Clemson |
| October | ||
| 3 | TBA | vs. Notre Dame |
| 10 | TBA | at Pittsburgh |
| 17 | TBA | at Duke |
| 24 | TBA | vs. Syracuse |
| 31 | TBA | vs. Miami |
| November | ||
| 7 | TBA | at UConn |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State |
| December | ||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte |
Transfer portal transactions
Incoming transfers
(Next season’s classes listed)
Senior defensive lineman Melkart Abou-Jaoude • 6–5, 260 pounds • Delaware
2024: 11 games, 10 tackles, 17 assists, 6.5 sacks for 50 yards, 8 QB hits
Senior offensive tackle William Boone (2 years of eligibility) • 6–6, 349 pounds • Prairie View A&M
2024: 12 games, team-high 782 snaps; didn’t allow a sack
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Browne • 6–4, 210 pounds • Purdue
2024: 8 games, 34 of 76, 532 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 127.5 quarterback rating
Junior defensive back Coleman Bryson • 6–2, 210 pounds • Minnesota
2024: 13 games, 14 tackles, 6 assists, 3 passes defended (pick-six below from 2022 season)
Junior tight end Connor Cox • 6–6, 251 pounds • South Carolina
2024: 4 games, 1 catch, 9 yards, 1 TD
Fifth-year cornerback Thaddeus Dixon • 6-1, 186 pounds • Washington
2024: 13 games, 26 tackles, 17 assists, 2 tackles for losses, 1 interception, 10 passes defended, 1 forced fumble
Senior defensive back Gavin Gibson • 6-0, 185 pounds • East Carolina
2024: 13 games, 25 tackles, 27 assists, 3 interceptions, 3 pass breakups
Sophomore linebacker Khmori House • 6-0, 213 pounds • Washington
2024: 12 games, 19 tackles, 16 assists, 1 interception, 4 pass breakups, 1 QB hit
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Aziah Johnson • 6–0, 175 pounds • Michigan State
2024: 12 games, 16 catches, 276 yards, 2 touchdowns; 1 rush, 15 yards
Fifth-year center Christo Kelly • 6–4, 305 pounds • Holy Cross
2024: Started 12 games, part of line that allowed 1.08 sacks per game, 11th-best in country
Fifth-year offensive lineman Daniel King • 6–5, 340 pounds • Troy
2024: 12 games, 429 snaps at right tackle, 360 at right guard, allowed 2 sacks, named All-Sun Belt second team
Senior offensive lineman Chad Lindberg • 6–6, 315 pounds • Rice (Georgia before that)
2024: Played 11 games after playing 20 games and 139 snaps for Georgia
Sophomore offensive tackle Miles McVay • 6–6, 340 pounds • Alabama
2024: 5 games, 94 snaps
Sophomore defensive tackle C.J. Mims • 6–2, 302 pounds • East Carolina
2024: 12 games, 4 tackles, 19 assists, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jason Robinson Jr. • 5–10, 151 pounds • Washington
2024: Redshirted after catching 68 passes for 900 yards as a senior at Long Beach Poly
Junior place-kicker Adam Samaha • 5–11, 195 pounds • Michigan
2024: didn’t play (Wolverines had Big Ten Kicker of Year Dominic Zvada)
2023: 1 game, 1 extra-point attempt made • Hit 60-yard FG in training (in below video)
Sophomore safety Peyton Waters • 6–1, 182 pounds • Washington
2024: 13 games, 3 tackles, 2 assists
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Pryce Yates • 6–4, 265 pounds • UConn
2024: 7 games, 12 tackles, 9 assists, 3.5 sacks for 23 yards, 5 QB hurries; Fenway Bowl defensive MVP
Tar Heels entering, exiting portal
(Next season’s classes listed)
Redshirt sophomore 5–11, 180-pound defensive back Ty Adams
2024: 4 tackles
Sophomore 6–3, 300-pound offensive lineman Aidan Banfield
2024: 62.8 Pro Football Focus grade best in country among true freshmen
Fifth-year 6–5, 310 fifth-year center Austin Blaske
2024: Started 11 games with Pro Football Focus grade of 85.6
Junior 6–0, 230-pound linebacker Amare Campbell
2024: 12 games, 42 tackles, 30 assists, 11 tackles for losses, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Fifth-year 5–11, 220-pound running back Caleb Hood
2024: 4 games, 7 carries, 3 yards, 1 catch, 29 yards
Senior 6–1, 190-pound wide receiver Kobe Paysour
2024: 12 games, 19 catches, 330 yards
In the transfer portal
— Offensive linemen Zach Greenberg (committed to James Madison), Jakiah Leftwich (Central Florida), Malik McGowan (UNLV), Andrew Rosinski (Georgia Tech), Howard Sampson (Texas Tech) and Eli Sutton (Austin Peay)
— Running back Jordan Louie
— Quarterbacks Conner Harrell (Charlotte), Michael Merdinger (Liberty) and Jacolby Criswell (East Tennessee State)
— Linebackers Ashton Woods (West Virginia) and Caleb LaVallee (Florida State)
— Defensive lineman Travis Shaw (Texas)
— Defensive backs DeAndre Boykins and Tyrane Stewart
— Place-kicker Noah Burnette (Notre Dame)
Reported Belichick’s staff members
General manager Michael Lombardi — Worked in NFL 1984–2016, including Cleveland Browns general manager in 2013 and assistant to the coaching staff for the New England Patriots 2014–16
Director of Player Personnel Joe Anile — NFL scout for the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars
Assistant Director of Player Personnel Andrew Blaylock — Assistant athletics director for player personnel at Central Florida the last three seasons; had similar positions at Appalachian State 2016–22 and Texas State 2015–16
Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick — Defensive coordinator last season at Washington; New England Patriots defensive coach 2012–23
Strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera — New England Patriots assistant strength coach 2011–15; head Patriots strength and conditioning coach 2016–23
Offensive assistant coach Bob Diaco — Was defensive coach at LSU the last two seasons; has coached in college since 1999.
Offensive-line coach Will Friend — Offensive coordinator last season at Western Kentucky; was offensive line coach at Tennessee (2018–20), Auburn (2021–22), Mississippi State (2023) and Tennessee; offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Colorado State (2015–17) and offensive line coach at Georgia (2011–14)
Cory Giddings — Will be part of player personnel staff; Director of Player Personnel at Central Florida the past two seasons, working with Blaylock there, and before that at Appalachian State
Armond Hawkins — Was secondary analyst and assistant director of recruiting last season at Washington. Before that, he spent one season at Arizona, one season at Colorado and two seasons at Southern Cal.
Defensive assistant coach Chris Jones — CFL coach 2002–18, 2021–2024; 2018 CFL Coach of Year at Saskatchewan; head coach in 2015 of Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos; Cleveland Browns defensive assistant coach 2019
Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens — UNC run-game coordinator and tight ends coach 2023–24; interim UNC coach for 2024 Fenway Bowl; head coach Cleveland Browns 2019; Assistant coach with New York Giants (2020–21), Browns (2018), Arizona Cardinals (2007–2017), Dallas Cowboys (2006), Mississippi State (2004), North Texas (2001–03), LSU (2000) and Glenville State (1999)
Offensive assistant coach Matt Lombardi — Was an offensive analyst last season at Oregon; NFL assistant with Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers
Running backs coach Natrone Means — A UNC running back (1990–92) who was a two-time All-ACC pick, he has been with the program since joining Mack Brown’s staff as an offensive analyst in 2021.
Offensive assistant coach Garrick McGee — Was wide receivers coach at Louisville the last two seasons. Has coached in college since 1996.
Chris Mattes — The former professional lacrosse player had been the New England Patriots’ Director of Football Development, and had been with the team the last eight seasons.
Assistant coach Billy Miller — IMG Academy assistant head coach 2014–21, head coach 2022–24
Special teams coach Mike Priefer — NFL assistant coach since 2002; head special teams coach at Kansas City (2006–08), Denver (2009–10), Minnesota (2011–18) and Cleveland (2019–22).
Photo via ESPN screenshot
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