Legend Down the Road: Dealing With Belichick

The dominating storyline of the offseason prior to the first kickoffs of college football games in 2025 is Bill Belichick. The iconic NFL coach took the job at the University of North Carolina, replacing college football legend Mack Brown after he retired.

North Carolina, similar to Colorado three years ago after Deion Sanders arrived, exploded onto the national media scene with Belichick at the helm. The school, known primarily as a basketball school, experienced an unprecedented level of attention on a program not used to the spotlight.

Just down the road, NC State football has quietly rebuilt after a disappointing 2024 season. In head coach Dave Doeren's 13th season leading the Wolfpack, the team will have to deal with the attention given to its nemesis in Chapel Hill.

Bulletin Board Material

While Belichick and the Tar Heels focused on internal issues such as rebuilding a roster from scratch, some of NC State's top players took their opinions of their rivals new direction on social media.

Returning running back Hollywood Smothers, who dominated UNC in the 2024 rivalry game, sparked controversy when he posted a photo of a dartboard with Belichick's picture taped to it.

NC State RB Hollywood Smothers is taking shots at #UNC head coach Bill Belichick.

Smothers took an unofficial visit to UNC as a recruit out of West Charlotte. The Tar Heels never offered. pic.twitter.com/2FHfpW2ej8
— Grant Hughes (@GrantHughesNC) May 15, 2025

In the past, Doeren hasn't kept his feelings about NC State from the media. After the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in 2023, Doeren said, "It's been 1,460 days since those pieces of s--- beat us." ACC Network caught the speech on camera and caused controversy within the rivalry.

For NC State, there's still plenty of bulletin board material to work with. UNC, a team of new additions and mercenaries, will likely just be learning about the rivalry on the fly. At ACC media day, sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey made it fairly clear, the coach of the Tar Heels means nothing as long as the uniforms are still powder blue.

“Shoot, Bill Belichick will get it, too. We’re going five years (in a row). No matter who the coach is for UNC, we’re going to kick them,” Bailey said. "It means a lot that I could play against Bill Belichick. But if he comes to play, we’re going to kill them. We’re going to kill them.”

Ignoring the Noise

While Bailey and Smothers took on the roles of stirring the pot, tight end Justin Joly and defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland played it cool. Like many college players and coaches, the duo just wants to play the team in front of them.

“As an in-state rivalry, we always play up in that game. So, I’m looking forward to it; it’ll be fun,” Cleveland said at media day.

Joly explained he was unfazed by the hire and that he even thought it was a fake news story.

Winning a fifth-straight rivalry game over the Tar Heels means the same as it always has for the Wolfpack. It just might be a little more difficult now with an eight-time Super Bowl Champion patrolling the North Carolina sidelines.

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