At one point in this disaster of a debacle, you've got to think Bill Belichick made a quick assessment of life decisions since December 2024.
Then realized Bob Petrino, of all people, is the sanest, surest move he has made in this whirlwind of woof at North Carolina.
And wouldn’t you know it, the Tar Heels won the first football game of the 2026 season Saturday in Ireland, and I’m not exactly sure what it means. Other than North Carolina scored 15 points and didn’t lose again under Belichick.
And he can thank Petrino for it.
Because as bad as this three-hour enema looked, the crawl ball showcase would’ve
been much, much worse if the great and incomparable Belichick wouldn’t have reached out to Petrino — last seen in the closing stages of the 2025 season, cleaning up the latest mess at Arkansas.
One he didn’t create, no less.
It’s fitting this underwhelming European showcase finished with the TCU defense jumping offsides on fourth down to seal the fifth victory in 13 games under Belichick at North Carolina.
But not after Beli pumped his fist like he just won another Super Bowl — as a 9.5-point underdog.
Belichick did it without son Stephen Belichick, UNC’s defensive coordinator, who’s on medical leave. Did it with a quarterback playing for his fourth team, and for a sixth season after first enrolling at Wake Forest in 2021. Did it with 60 new players, a year after beginning this train wreck with 70 new players.
Did it with a whole lot of help from TCU and coach Sonny Dykes, the Frogs turning the ball over twice on downs deep in the red zone — when two short field goals would’ve won the game.
Sonny, babe, maybe forget about Josh Hoover’s 41 turnovers the previous three seasons and, you know, take the points.
More than anything, Belichick and UNC did it with Petrino, who long ago ran his career into a ditch when he had Arkansas, of all programs, at the top of the SEC in 2011. As the great Burgess Meredith once said, women weaken legs, Bobby.
Since that offseason motorcycle ride through the Ozarks with his subordinate ended worse than Marty Byrde and a minivan, Petrino has worked at WKU, Louisville (again), Missouri State, Texas A&M, Arkansas (again) and just this offseason decided, what the hell, I’ll join the circus Beli has fashioned in Chapel Hill.
And I know this is going to shock you, Petrino did what he always does as an offensive coordinator and play caller: He knows the best players on the field, and gets them the ball.
A simple concept, yes — but so wildly underrated in this age of look at me and my fancy offense.
Jelani Thurman, a freak athlete of a tight end and an Ohio State transfer, caught four balls for 94 yards. And if that sixth-year quarterback (Billy Edwards) threw with a smidge more accuracy, Thurman could’ve had 150 and at least one score.
As it is, Edwards did enough to get it to the second-best player on the field, UNC wideout Jordan Shipp — who had five catches for 71 yards, including a couple of critical third-down conversions.
North Carolina had all of 322 yards of offense, and it may has well have been 500. The Tar Heels simply had to protect the ball (still turned it over twice), and wait for TCU to implode.
The Frogs, who won 48-14 in last year’s season opener in Chapel Hill, had a key fumble that led to a UNC field goal, sailed a punt snap into the end zone for a safety and had 11 penalties for 90 yards — including critical 15-yard penalties that ended potential scoring drives, and extended drives for UNC.
TCU’s four possessions in the second half: fumble, punt, downs (at UNC 5) and downs (at UNC 10).
No wonder Petrino ran the ball more than he threw it, even though North Carolina wasn’t exactly grinding out long drives. The Tar Heels rushed for 3 yards a carry (90 yards on 29 carries), and the entire package looked a whole lot like those homogenized NFL games of the past.
Get a lead in the fourth quarter, make a defensive stand and run out the clock. Riveting.
Though it’s better than the alternative: UNC’s previous 12 games under Belichick.
And he can thank Petrino for that.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: After all the drama, Bill Belichick's surest bet is Bobby Petrino. Go figure
