Bill Belichick’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ Creates Opportunities for Tar Heels

North Carolina's head coach has implementation of "Sunday Night Football" has led to young Tar Heels breaking out of their shell.

North Carolina head football coach Bill Belichick at the Tabor Academy vs. Milton Academy game on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. | Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sunday Night Football has taken its course during the Bill Belichick regime as a way for young Tar Heels to show that they are developing within the system, and potentially recieve an opportunity to play come Saturdays. North Carolina has been holding such event on Sunday nights, involving all of the players (who become cheerleaders for a moment) and coaches.

And through this one-of-a-kind approach, it has allowed for players like Madrid Tucker to earn an opportunity out on the field — as he had a big time game against Virginia — a game where he led the wide receiving corps in receptions. This keeps the team engaged with one amongst each other, and build chemistry. Wide receivers coach Garrick McGee dove into the concept.

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• “Well, we're all out there," McGee said on November 6 about Sunday Night Football." Everyone's out there, and everybody's into it. You know, our players that played in the game the day before, they're into it. It's fun for them. They really cheer hard for their teammates that are out there. The young kids want to do well, one because they want to put on film that they are getting better and developing."

• "But the older guys are out there watching, and they're all into it. Everybody's out there. The coaches are all out there. It's pretty cool deal for us, but for the players that are practicing in those it's an opportunity to put on video that you are developing, because, like I said, Coach Belichick is going to go out of his way."

Oct 31, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick looks to the clock in the fourth quarter game against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

• "And he's going to find an hour during the week, at the end of the week to go in with all those guys, and he's going to coach everyone of those guys in that meeting. That's what makes that so important.”

McGee Details Madrid Tucker's Development

Prior to sharing more about what goes into "Sunday Night Football," McGee talked about the growth of Tucker and his ability to push forward.

• “Yeah, Madrid is a really good example of just the grind and just development," McGee said about the freshman wide receiver. "You know, we do what we call basics, which is our young guys practice. We do it after practice every day, and then on Sunday nights, they get to play Sunday Night Football is what we call it. And Madrid kept developing, kept growing."

• "We knew he was a good player when he first got here, but he just had to develop and keep going. And he made a bunch of plays in those basic sessions and just stuck with it. And you know now he's in position to help us win.” 

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