Joel Klatt shares optimism in UNC for first season under Bill Belichick

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt shared quite a bit of optimism surrounding Bill Belichick and his first year at North Carolina. In fact, the postseason seems like a distinct possibility for Belichick and the Tar Heels.

What kind of bowl that entails remains to be seen, but Belichick’s coaching prowess gives UNC a leg up, as Klatt puts it. When talking with Colin Cowherd, Klatt pushed back on the idea that Belichick using the transfer portal was a bad thing.

Belichick had to transform nearly the entire roster on the fly. It was a similar approach done by Deion Sanders ahead of Year 1 at Colorado.

“Like, it’s like Deion in his first year,” Klatt said on The Herd. “It’s like, there are programs that are forced to go the portal route. You might be right that, okay, recruit and develop. Is that how you get to the top of the sport? Yes, but that’s not how you turn it around quickly. Like, if you’re Bill Belichick, don’t you have to hit the portal to try to be competitive right away?”

So when it comes to the schedule, and whatever talent Belichick accumulated, it’s fair to say one would believe Belichick and the Tar Heels would win six-plus games. If that’s the case, “the hoodie” will be coaching in the postseason for the first time since the 2021 season with the New England Patriots.

“I think that they could finish fourth, fifth, fourth, in the ACC just because with the schedule they have in front of them, all they have to do is play Belichick style of football,” Klatt said. “Remember, he famously, Nick Saban says this and I certainly agree with this premise is that more games are lost than they are won. In particular in college football. Belichick even felt that way in the NFL. And so what did they do? They played solid in situations. They didn’t turn the football over. And lo and behold, you look up, they were in 10 straight AFC championships and won, you know, six Super Bowls with Tom Brady. This type of football, with that schedule, can get you to eight wins. I’m actually more bullish on North Carolina and Bill Belichick than most, because of that.

“If he just coaches well, then this is a team that can go out there and win eight games. So you’re looking at the schedule right now … the toughest game is by far, Clemson. Okay, so listen, they’re probably going to lose that. And then what else do they have? I mean, TCU to open. They play at Charlotte, they play against Richmond. They play at UCF, which is a bottom tier Big 12 school right now, at Cal, like nothing on that schedule scares me. The two best opponents are probably Clemson and North Carolina State, you would throw, maybe, TCU in there as well, but certainly nothing that’s going to scare you.”