ACC coaches dish on the hiring of Bobby Petrino for UNC

North Carolina’s first season under Bill Belichick didn’t go as planned. The Tar Heels finished with just four wins overall and two wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They failed to make a bowl game for the first time since 2018 when they fired Larry Fedora. The hope is that the 2026 season goes differently, as they will have Belichick’s first true recruiting class and a full transfer portal class coming in.

Plus, can it get much worse?

One change that UNC made is garnering some positive attention, however. After last season, the Tar Heels fired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and replaced him with Bobby Petrino. That move drew praise from an anonymous ACC coach via Athlon Sports:

“They were pretty bad on offense, but the guy they hired, Bobby Petrino, is phenomenal. He’s as good of a coach as there is with offense in college football. I can’t imagine how that dynamic (with Belichick) is gonna go, though.” 

North Carolina’s offense was dreadful last year and the frustrations mounted under Kitchens. Even with a difficult schedule, the offense should be better. Who knows, maybe Petrino will be the key to unlocking all the success on that side of the ball.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: One ACC coach is high on Bobby Petrino hire