By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick is taking a short break from recruiting this week but is ready to return to the road on Thursday.
During his weekly Monday appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick talked about his love for trick plays in the postseason, among other topics.
Belichick said he’s not allowed to recruit Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday because of the American Football Coaches Association Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center that began Saturday and concludes Tuesday.
“January’s is the one month when the head coaches in college can be on the road, and so I’ll be out on the road most every day in January to do that, other than these three days here,” said Belichick wearing a Jumpman-branded UNC winter jacket. Monday night, he appeared on the ESPN2 “ManningCast” during the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings playoff game.
Belichick’s segment starts at 1:17:30.
Belichick said that he’s taking the time to get things organized.
He still hasn’t officially announced any of his staff but is quietly filling the positions (see list below story) as reports continue to trickle out.
The latest reports are that Chris Mattes, a longtime New England Patriots staff member, will reunite with Belichick. Mattes joined the Patriots as player operations and engagement director in 2017 and became the team’s director of football development last year.
You might expect Belichick to pull out some trick plays when UNC plays in a bowl game or the ACC championship game. As he discussed with McAfee, he liked to have some of those ready for playoff games when he coached the New England Patriots.
“We said [that], going into the playoffs, let’s get a play that can score points,” Belichick said. “So maybe a goal-line pass, or something on the two- or three-yard line, or red area pass, or something that’s going to gain a chunk play of yards, 20, 30 yards. I don’t want to work on another run that’s going to gain three yards. Let’s work on something that could really impact the game.”
Belichick cited a specific example of doing that in the 2014 season during the Patriots’ run to a 28–24 victory over Seattle in Glendale, Ariz., in Super Bowl XLIX. He mentioned New England’s 34–31 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC divisional-round game.
“We ran the double pass, ran a couple of oddball formations; we were down by two touchdowns in the third quarter and were able to come back and tie it and eventually win the game,” Belichick said.
The double pass play netted a 51-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Julian Edelman to Danny Amendola. You can watch a video of the play here.
In those days, Belichick was plotting trickery with Josh McDaniels, his offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2021. At Carolina, he’ll do that plotting with Freddie Kitchens, who will be the Tar Heels’ offensive coordinator and joked before the Fenway Bowl that he’d have some trick plays.
“Josh and I always thought about plays that would really, we thought, could make a difference in the outcome of the game or could actually score points, get a touchdown instead of a field goal in a close game like that,” Belichick said.
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
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
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, Andrew Rosinski (Georgia Tech), Howard Sampson (Texas Tech) and Eli Sutton (Austin Peay)
— Running back Jordan Louie
— Quarterbacks Conner Harrell (Charlotte) and Michael Merdinger (Liberty)
— 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)
Belichick’s staff
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
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
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
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Opponent |
|---|---|
| August | |
| 30 | vs. TCU |
| September | |
| 6 | at Charlotte |
| 20 | at Central Florida |
| ACC home games | |
| Clemson, Duke, Stanford and Virginia | |
| ACC road games | |
| N.C. State, Syracuse, Cal and Wake Forest |
Photo via ESPN screenshot
tarheeltribune.com 