“There's a method to everything”: UNC GM heaps praise on 6X Super Bowl champ Bill Belichick’s coaching style

The Bill Belichick era has begun in UNC. The six-time Super Bowl champion coach is currently taking spring training with the North Carolina Tar Heels ahead of the 2025 college football season.

Belichick accepted his first-ever college coaching role on Dec. 11, and the countdown to his first game has begun. In the meantime, the future Hall of Famer is earning plaudits from those close to the action.

UNC general manager Michael Lombardi joined "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday to talk about the environment in North Carolina

"There's a method to everything Coach (Belichick) does, and one of the things we have to work on here in North Carolina is our communication," Lombardi said. "We got to know everybody on the team, we got to know the player's name. We need to highlight communicate. Not wearing numbers at practice highlights communication."

Lombardi and Belichick go way back, working together with the New England Patriots. Hence, it wasn't surprising that Belichick hired Lombardi as the UNC GM.

Of course, Belichick is famous for being the coach and general manager of the New England Patriots during his two-decade spell of dominance. Hence, seeing how much power Belichick cedes to Lombardi in the upcoming season will be interesting.

What to expect from Bill Belichick and UNC in 2025?

Bill Belichick is charting unknown waters for the first time in his decades-long coaching career. He has spent all his career coaching in the NFL, going from elite defensive coordinator to arguably the most successful American sports coach of all time.

Hence, it was mildly a shock to some when Belichick accepted the UNC job towards the end of the 2024 regular season. He's now a few months away from making his college football coaching debut.

It's hard to set expectations for the iconic coach ahead of his first CFB campaign. Some expect him to struggle due to the transition, while others see him turning the Tar Heels into perennial contenders.

The postseason expectation for the Tar Heels fan base is somewhere in between. The program expects to perform significantly better than last year. However, most UNC fans won't be pressed if Belichick fails to lead them to the expanded college football playoff.

However, one thing's for sure, and that's the fact that UNC games will get loads of coverage in 2025. It's not every time you see an all-time great NFL coach try his hand at the NCAA.