Everything Bill Belichick Said About UNC Football on ACC Network

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick spoke with the ACC Network as part of their Football Road Trip special.

In case you missed it, here is everything Belichick said to host Wes Durham and analysts Roddy Jones and EJ Manuel.

On having more players on the roster in college football compared to a 53-man roster in the NFL

"It’s a little different — actually a luxury — to be able to find roles for guys and not have to worry about keeping one over another. You can keep both and use them in their roles. It’s great to have you here in the Bill Koman Facility."

"This is a special place with a great facility, and my dad coached Bill Koman for three years here. Bill’s son Jim is a great supporter of the program, and we’re proud of the Koman family’s support. My dad and Bill had a special connection — they were here at the same time before Bill went into the NFL and had a great career."

Adapting to Coaching Student-Athletes

"Every year in the NFL felt like starting over again. Some players — like Tom Brady — might have heard something 20 times, like staying in bounds in a four-minute offense or getting out of bounds in a two-minute drill, or saving a timeout for a field goal. It’s the same progression here."

"We work on things in the field, correct what needs correcting, and reinforce what’s done right. Football has a lot of situations, fundamentals, contact, toughness, and strategy, and it all comes together in what we teach.

Qualities he looks for in a starting quarterback

"First, a quarterback has to run the offense — leadership, decision-making, communication, and handling situations are all part of it. In the passing game, it’s about decision-making and accuracy, plus being able to make plays off-schedule."

"If they can’t run the offense, it’s hard to play quarterback. Assuming they can, then it’s about their playmaking ability in the passing and running game, and making good decisions in critical situations, so we can win."

Adjusting from having preseason to prepare for the season in the NFL to having none in college football

That adjustment comes in the last week to 10 days of camp. Right now, it’s about learning how to run plays and mastering the fundamentals. Later, we’ll work in game-type situations and scrimmages, but first we need a solid base — knowing what to do, how to do it, and doing it well. The last part of camp will focus on situational football and game planning. We’re on schedule, but there’s still a lot to do.

On the players buying in

"The biggest thing in football is improving. We only play once a week, so you have to get better in the other six days. Camp is an opportunity to do that — every team gets the same amount of practice, so it’s what you do with that time in meetings, practice, rest, recovery, and training."

"The players have bought in, and we’ve made progress. Things we haven’t done well have improved, and in some cases, we’ve adjusted our approach to fit players’ skills. It’s a two-way street, and we’ll see where we are once competition begins, but so far camp has been productive."

How he evaluates to find players that fit his system

"A lot of that comes after you get the player. You can project, but sometimes you’re right and sometimes you’re not, depending on their background. If you haven’t seen them do something — like a two-gap technique — they might be great at it or struggle with it."

"You often don’t know until you coach them. We try to fit players into roles where they can be productive, and that builds their confidence. We have multiple personnel groups and opportunities for guys to play. If they earn those spots and perform well, they’ll get more. If not, someone else will take those reps."

Using old film from his days as the head coach of the New England Patriots to teach his players

Absolutely. We’ve shown a lot of Patriots film — and other great NFL players — to demonstrate what we want and how to do it. Watch (Donta) Hightower, Brady, Gronkowski, (Danny) Edelman, Lawrence Taylor, Stephon Gilmore, Ty Law, (Aquib) Talib — all great examples. It’s been fun to go back and show how good they were and why, based on their technique and understanding of the game. Sometimes it’s at the expense of other teams’ lowlights, but that’s not the intent.

On how special the 1980 North Carolina was

LT (Lawrence Taylor), Paul Davis, Buddy Curry — we’ve talked a lot about them. Dee Hardison and others from that defense either played for me or with LT and Paul. That team gave up only 120 points all season, 45 of those to Oklahoma. Calvin Daniels and LT were both 6'4", 245, long, and fast off the edge — they usually met at the quarterback.

It was hard to tell them apart on film. LT started at nose guard, which is why he wore 98 in college before NFL rules made him switch to a linebacker number. The old 16-millimeter film makes it even harder to see, but that was a dominant team with a lot of great players.

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