Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick will try to secure his first collegiate coaching victory when his North Carolina team plays in an NFL city on Saturday night after a rude introduction as the Tar Heels’ head coach.
North Carolina (0-1) heads to Charlotte to face the hometown 49ers, with the Tar Heels tasked with a quick turnaround.
They fell 48-14 to visiting TCU in the season opener on Monday in a defeat that was jarring on many levels.
“We had too many self-inflicted wounds we have to eliminate before we can even worry about addressing our opponent,” said Belichick, 73. “So we’ll start with that, and then move on to Charlotte.”
Plus, there already are questions about who will start at quarterback for the Tar Heels. While not a controversy, it certainly will be a curiosity going into the next game.
Gio Lopez exited in the third quarter Monday with a back injury, though his time might have been finished for the night by that stage anyway. Lopez went 4-for-10 for 69 yards, with one interception.
Max Johnson, UNC’s 2024 opening-night quarterback before he suffered a season-ending leg injury, led a touchdown drive in relief Monday night and finished 9 of 11 for 103 yards.
With Lopez’s status unknown and Johnson’s production notable in a small sample size, there could be a change.
“We’ll take a look at it and see where things are at and go from there,” Belichick said. “It’s too early to tell now.”
Charlotte (0-1) has a quarterback with a Tar Heels angle because Conner Harrell is a former starter for North Carolina. He started last September in a victory against Charlotte.
The 49ers opened this season with a 34-11 loss to Appalachian State on Aug. 29 at Charlotte’s NFL venue, Bank of America Stadium. The visit from the Tar Heels will be in the smaller campus venue, Jerry Richardson Stadium.
“You make your biggest jump from first game to second game,” first-year Charlotte coach Tim Albin said. “And you have as many new faces (as we do), you’re going to see your most improvement.”
Harrell was 13-for-24 for 142 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, last week.
“We’ve got to get some guys around him to help him,” Albin said. “We just couldn’t get in the flow.”
For the Tar Heels to get things right, it will take a significant upgrade after the opener.
“There wasn’t any one thing,” said Belichick, whose team was outgained 542-222 and trailed in first downs, 29-10. “It was a combination of multiple things. … (Charlotte) came off a disappointing game themselves, so we’re both a little bit in the same boat here.”
