UNC coach Bill Belichick preparing for season, drowning out 'noise'

Bill Belichick said he's put up with outside chatter throughout his career and isn't about to let it derail his mission of rebuilding the football program at North Carolina.

"I'm really focused on doing my job here at Carolina, to help our football team, and just to get better every day, to stack those days together, training days, preparation days, days out on the field. And we've done that," he said Tuesday at a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C.

"So that's my big focus. I mean, is there noise out there? We've always dealt with that. Really our job is to build the football team also build their individual career. So that's really where we're at."

There has been plenty of noise surrounding the 73-year-old NFL legend since he was hired in December to lead the Tar Heels. Much of it has focused on his personal relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, and he shifted away from talk to about her; all he confirmed is "she doesn't have any role in the UNC football program," as some speculated she did. Instead, he focused on topics such as the Tar Heels' quarterback room, building a team in the transfer portal era and the excitement of working on a college campus.

Assembling the team has been an undertaking. Many of the players who were part of coach Mack Brown's (6-7, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) 2024 team are gone.

"Lot of new faces since the end of last season, it's been a lot of turnover, almost two thirds of the roster from where it was in January," he said.

"A lot of new faces -- but definitely coming together. Training has been good. We made a lot of improvement. It's good team chemistry, a lot of individual improvement. Obviously we got a long way to go, but we're working hard and making progress, and so we're excited about that."

Belichick isn't clear yet who will start at quarterback. Max Johnson, entering his sixth college season and at his third school, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening win against Minnesota in 2024. South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez also is on board.

"We've got some freshmen, we've got Max who has got some experience, and Gio -- we'll see how it all plays out honestly," Belichick said. "You know, none of them, with the exception of Max for a handful of plays last year, none of them have really taking any snaps here. So it'll be good to see how all that plays out."

Belichick said his team is continuing to evolve, even with the Sept. 1 opener against TCU not far off. He's not quite sure just what he's got.

"We'll have a lot better idea in training camp. There were several players that left the team after spring ball, and then we have a lot of new ones, a lot of new faces, both incoming freshmen and players who came from transfers. And so we'll just have to see how all that plays out. I think where we were then, and honestly, where we are even today, is we're at a different spot," he said.

"So it'll be interesting to see how it all comes together. We've got a lot of work to do, but it's certainly trending in the right direction."

--Field Level Media