They may both have experience in the college and NFL ranks but North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick and his new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino could hardly be more different. Perhaps opposites attract in this case because Belichick heaped on the praise for his new top assistant this week.
Speaking to the media at ACC Media Days, Belichick said that he's known Petrino for many years and even said that some of Petrino's offensive schemes are similar to what he had in New England.
"It's been great. I've known him for a long time. A lot of things he does offensively are similar to what we did in New England," Belichick said, via On3's Brett McMurphy.
Belichick and Petrino
Despite having a combined nine decades of coaching experience, Petrino and Belichick never crossed paths on a football field. They never played with or against each other during Petrino's four years as an NFL coach and Petrino spent the rest of his time in college while Belichick was in the NFL.
Petrino spent three years as an assistant for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1999 to 2001 after spending the prior two decades as an assistant. He parlayed all of that experience into the Louisville head coaching job from 2003 to 2006, which would precede his infamous tenure with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007.
After that unmitigated disaster in Atlanta, Petrino went back to college, where he's remained ever since. Though controversy has still followed him plenty of times.
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But Petrino's decades of college coaching experience probably can't hurt Belichick's cause since the eight-time Super Bowl champion is lacking in that area.
North Carolina's offense could hardly get any worse under Petrino than it was under former OC Freddie Kitchens. The team ranked 120th out of 136 last year, averaging less than 20 points per game and finishing 4-8 overall.
Even if Petrino can't supercharge the North Carolina offense, just making the team look competent with the schedule that they have will be a pretty big step forward.
