Manny Diaz on North Carolina rivalry with Bill Belichick: 'Whatever gets more people watching'

Throughout the offseason, there haven’t been many stories bigger than the start of the Bill Belichick era with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, however, with summer just around the corner, opposing ACC coaches are getting ready to compete against him on the field.

One of those coaches who knows he needs to beat Bill Belichick is Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz. He explained on the College GameDay Podcast that he’s hoping that Belichick can bring more eyes to the actual games, but that he’s also ready to compete.

“Whatever gets more people watching,” Manny Diaz said. “Right? And anything, again, that’s good for ACC football is good for all of us in the ACC.”

The 2024 season was Diaz’s first with Duke. He’d lead the Blue Devils to an impressive 9-4 record. That included a one-point win over North Carolina. It was Duke’s first win in the series since 2018. Overall, North Carolina now leads the all-time series 64-42-4.

“That was a big win for us a year ago,” Diaz said. “We got a really, really neat feature to our football facility down there. That’s what makes college football amazing. Those types of rivalries… Look, the guy [Mack Brown] that was there this past year had won a lot of games too. You know what I mean? And I worked for him too. So, the expectation is that game should always be amazing. Our belief here is it’s always going to come down to the last play, and we’ve got to be built to win the game on that last play.”

To this point in their careers, Manny Diaz has strictly coached in college while Belichick has strictly been in the NFL. Despite that, the two actually know one another. In particular, Diaz has visited the New England Patriots during his time there.

“So, we’ll be excited, but Coach Belichick has always been great to me. I’d always go and visit him up in New England,” Diaz said. “And he even had me speak to the team last time I was there. So, I got to see him for the first time in Amelia and it was good to catch up with him, and like I said, let’s get ACC football back to rolling a bit.”

Duke and North Carolina won’t be opening up against one another in 2025. Instead, they’ll have to wait until late November to renew their rivalry. By then, the hope is that both teams are going to be competing for one of the top spots in the ACC.