CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina is hoping a new offensive coordinator and a new-look quarterback room can change the team’s offensive fortunes in head coach Bill Belichick’s second season in Chapel Hill.

The first order of business for Belichick and veteran offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino: Picking a starting quarterback from a quartet of contenders, including three newcomers.

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Belichick said before the start of preseason practice that there is no leader in the clubhouse and there is no set timeline for choosing QB1. UNC opens its 2026 season on Aug. 29 against TCU in Dublin, Ireland.

“Once it becomes apparent and clear, then that’s when we’ll make the decision,” Belichick said.

North Carolina added transfers Billy Edwards Jr., a well-traveled fifth-year player who missed most of last season at Wisconsin, and redshirt sophomore Miles O’Neill from Texas A&M. The Tar Heels signed freshman Travis Burgess and retained last year’s third-stringer Au’Tori Newkirk. 

It is a varied group in terms of experience and skill sets.

“They just come from different places and we want to see how it all comes together,” Belichick said.

The hope is that it comes together better than it did last season.

The Tar Heels ranked No. 129 out of 134 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, 118th in scoring offense and 115th in red-zone offense efficiency during Belichick’s first season. Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens was fired, and the team’s top two quarterbacks transferred. Starter Gio Lopez (Wake Forest) and backup Max Johnson (Georgia Southern) accounted for all but six of the team’s quarterback passing attempts in 2025. Touted freshman Bryce Baker, who didn’t take a snap, transferred to Virginia Tech.

Petrino has coordinated high-powered offenses across his long coaching career, including head-coaching stops at Louisville, Arkansas, Western Kentucky and Missouri State as well as the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. North Carolina is his 10th stop as an offensive coordinator. Petrino coached Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson at Louisville.

He said he isn’t bound to running a specific offense, borrowing from stuff he’s run in the past, along with input from the offensive assistants and Belichick to create “the North Carolina offense.”

“We’re starting to mold it together as our offense,” Petrino said. “It’s got another step to go because we’re putting it all in, putting it all in and then at some moment here we’re going to have to say this is our guy [at quarterback], and we’ve got to mold it around him.”

Breaking down the quarterback options

Edwards Jr. redshirted at Wake Forest in 2021, then played three seasons at Maryland, including 11 games in 2024 when he threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns. He transferred to Wisconsin for 2025 and was the team’s starting quarterback in the opener. But he injured his knee in the first game, returned to action briefly three weeks later and missed the rest of the season.

“He had more experience than all of the other quarterbacks put together times five,” Belichick said.

Petrino said Edwards, 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds, was limited physically when he first arrived at UNC.

“He’s as healthy as he’s been in a long time,” Petrino said. “It’ll be fun to see how he does out there.”

O’Neill (6-5, 220 pounds) appeared in eight games across two seasons at Texas A&M. He completed 12 of 20 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions in limited time.

“Miles is a very talented player, one of the best athletes on the team,” Belichick said. “He’s big, he’s fast, he’s strong. He could play tight end, probably could play linebacker, safety.”

Said Petrino: “A great athlete that can make a lot of different things happen. He’s just got to show that he’s consistent with decision making and accuracy.”

Newkirk (6-3, 200 pounds) played in two games last season for the Tar Heels, completing three of six passes in mop-up duty. Belichick said Newkirk has improved from last season.

“Tori’s a guy I like a lot,” Petrino said. “He understands the offense. He’s a quick learner. His ability to be consistently accurate just needs to get better. But he’s done a good job.”

Burgess, a four-star recruit out of Georgia, missed most of his senior year due to a season-ending knee injury suffered in a late August game. Burgess (6-4, 193) wasn’t cleared for full practice in the spring, but was at full speed in the summer.

He’s a tremendous athlete,” Petrino said. “He’s got a quick release, strong arm, and he impressed me [on the first day of preseason practice] with how hard he’s worked in his ability to step in the huddle, call the play, picture the play in his mind and go through his progression.”

Peterino added: “The talent level is very, very high. The ceiling is very high. We need to see him more in action and how quickly you learn, how quickly you can handle protections, how quickly you can handle blitz. Things that we weren't able to do in the spring are still like question marks on how he’ll do it.”