Would A Change In Quarterback Make Unc A Better Football Team?

Before we address that question, let’s review some recent history.

We’ve all seen the difference in Gio Lopez’s play this season away from Bill Belichick’s program. Gio was pretty good at South Alabama, but he looked like someone who’d never played QB before once Belichick got ahold of him. Just four games removed from that horror show, Lopez has led Wake Forest to a 3-1 record, including an upset on the road of 16th-ranked Louisville. Within the conference, Lopez personally ranks fifth in passing yards per game and sixth in passer rating. Nationally, Lopez ranks 30th in QBR this season.

Another example of a QB who looked great before Belichick, got significantly worse under Belichick, and then got much better away from Bill: Mac Jones. Jones came to New England after sitting behind Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama and then posting one of the best passer ratings in NCAA history. Jones absorbed Nick Saban’s notoriously demanding coaching for four years. Jones made the Pro Bowl his rookie season, but then the developing QB regressed horribly in seasons two and three, in part because Belichick picked Matt Patricia to be his offensive coordinator in year two. Belichick reportedly stopped talking to his QB during that season, apparently blaming Jones rather than his own decisions for New England’s regression on offense. Year three was a toxic locker room disaster, the 4-13 season that got Bill fired by the Patriots and made him available to UNC after a year of being unemployed.

Many considered Mac’s NFL career done. Two years removed from Belichick and playing for the 49ers, though, Jones last season posted the NFL’s 10th highest QBR rating over eight games. That’s one spot behind Lamar Jackson and ahead of NFL playoff starters like Trevor Lawrence, CJ Stroud, and Bo Nix. Away from Belichick and confidence restored, Jones once again looks like a highly capable NFL QB.

Which brings us back to this year’s QB dysfunction at UNC:

Billy Edwards Jr. across three games has struggled with downfield throws, completing 9-22 for 136 yards and an interception. His total QBR ranks 77th nationally and 11th in the ACC. His passer rating rates 98th nationally and 14th in the conference. UNC’s offense scored a total of six points in the second half against TCU and Clemson. Many UNC fans want to see another QB take the field, just like many fans wanted to see Max Johnson or Bryce Baker replace Gio last season.

Here’s the thing, though: Gio’s now proven to be the best QB from last season’s QB room, at least in this current moment. It’s not even really close. The problem last season wasn’t playing a bad QB. It was turning an otherwise good QB into a bad one.

You’d think with Bobby Petrino — a proven QB developer and playcaller — replacing Freddie Kitchens, that UNC would be far better at QB. It’s not.

After 2009, Mack Brown went through multiple defensive coordinators at Texas and UNC, all of them posting poor results, one after the other. Those defenses got Brown fired at two different schools. At some point, the common denominator was clearly Mack Brown.

So, given all that: do you think benching Edwards for Miles O’Neill or Travis Burgess makes UNC a better football team?