Bill Belichick loses PFF’s highest-rated transfer Tar Heel

When Bill Belichick finished a miserable 4-8 debut in Chapel Hill, he didn’t pretend to be anything else. The Football in North Carolina the team has a lot of work to do, and fast. The offseason was already supposed to be about rebuilding credibility and talent, but the portal just nibbled at that plan.

Hayes Favcett reported that UNC EDGE Tyler Thompson plans to enter the transfer portalaccording to his agent via On3Sports. Thompson wasn’t just another name on the depth chart.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound linebacker has posted 26 tackles, seven sacks, eight tackles for loss and two forced fumbles this season. He also earned an 85.0 PFF grade, the highest on the team, and finished fourth in the ACC in sacks. For a roster that has struggled to put together positive results, losing a player with that kind of production and rating is brutal.

BREAKING: North Carolina EDGE Tyler Thompson plans to enter @TransferPortalsays his agent @On3Sports

6’4 245 EDGE totaled 26 tackles, 7 sacks, 8 TFL and 2 FF this season

Earned an 85.0 PFF grade (highest on the team) and was 4th in the ACC in sackshttps://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/HgKSU2pm1ia

— Hayes Favcett (@Haiesfavcett3) December 17, 2025

It also lands at the worst possible time, as Belichick is already reshaping the staff and identity of the program.

After the offense went through the season, UNC moved on from offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, leaving Stephen Belichick as defensive coordinator. That puts even more pressure on subsequent hires and portal additions to be immediate impact rather than long-term projects.

And that leads to the other main track this offseason: the pursuit of OCs.

Names they are associated with North Carolina includes Bobby PetrinoChip Kelly and Kevin Decker. Petrino brings recent high-level production, Decker is coming off an explosive streak at Old Dominion, and Kelly is the top option given his longtime relationship with Belichick.

Whoever gets the job is essentially being asked to build an offensive blueprint for Belichick’s college reboot.

Still, none of that changes the immediate reality: You can’t fix a program if your best pieces keep leaving. Thompson’s field goal is the kind of loss that forces UNC to win at managing the roster before it can win on Saturday.