How Bobby Petrino plans UNC’s offense — and what he says about Belichick

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 ahead of the Tar Heels' Week 1 game against TCU.

Yeah, it's been fun. One thing I've always prided myself on as a coach, and growing up a coach's son, is to continue to learn and get better. I feel like I've learned a lot just since I've been here, and I'm working hard to improve myself.

It's fun to work for a head coach that knows all three phases and has input on all three phases. When he's talking about defense, I'm intent listening, seeing what I can learn and find out about the different ways defenses are being coached.

​​Q: You've got a lot of quarterbacks to choose from and a lot of different skill sets. What's your impression of those guys so far? How do you see that battle over the last couple months?

Bobby Petrino, center, is in his first season as the offensive coordinator for UNC football entering the Tar Heels' second year under head coach Bill Belichick.

I think it's been good. We came in, and it's a little bit different now than sometimes in the older days because you get so many transfers coming in at midyear. The rules have changed a little bit where you get to work with them eight hours a week in the offseason, and then you've got spring ball, which is 20 hours a week. Then we'll come back again in the summer and get to do it again, and then we go to camp.

I've kind of always felt like I've never believed that, 'OK, this is our offense, this is what we do. We're going to install the offense.' That'll end up being four times. I feel like it's our job to mold the offense around what the quarterback does best, hide what he doesn't do best, and how we use the different weapons that we have out there with the running backs, tight ends and receivers.

So, it's been fun to watch them learn it and understand that the first thing they have to do is be perfect in the run game. As a quarterback, one of the things that makes your job easier is to be really good in the run game and then understand the protections and make sure you get yourself protected.

Once you can do those two things, then it comes down to just using the skills that God gave you and the ability that you have. So, we've been working really hard on knowing the run game, knowing the defenses, understanding protections, getting ourselves protected.

All of them have done a good job at times and need improvement at other times, but it's been a lot of fun.

Q: You've been able to produce quality offenses at a variety of stops over the years. Is there a common thread, and what's allowed you to have that kind of consistent success?

Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks interim head coach Bobby Petrino prior to a game against the Missouri Tigers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

I feel like being a good teacher. I think that's one of the things, particularly when there are so many new guys. In years past, you might have guys for two, three, four years in the same system. Now you get them to come in in January and they've got to line up in August or the first of September and play a game.

So, you have to do a good job of teaching and being able to get them to understand the principles of offense. We've always been a power run team, and being able to run the football well. I think you have to run the football. You have to run it when you want to run it, so that when it's short yardage, goal line, four-minute offense to end the game, you can run it when they know you're going to run the football.

I think that's something we've always been very good at. I feel like we've always been a very good explosive team, whether that's off play-action, quick game or drop-back game. But I do think you have to be able to generate chunk plays.

I think we have some really good weapons on our offense now that have shown they can go out there and make explosive plays, whether it's the running backs, tight ends or receivers. So that's exciting for me.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: OC Bobby Petrino discusses offensive plans, quarterbacks