Jonathan Powell Breaks Out, UNC Football Coaching Shakeup, Seth Trimble on the Mend
Plus: Women's Basketball lets one slip away, Wrestling off to dominant start, Tar Heels in the NFL, Men's Basketball gives back, Armando Bacot the entrepreneur
It was a big week for the Tar Heels. Jonathan Powell had a breakout game, Bill Belichick shook up the UNC Football staff, Seth Trimble is on the mend, Women’s Basketball let one slip away, UNC Wrestling is off to dominant start, Men’s Basketball gives back, Armando Bacot closed another deal, and more. On to the updates…
🏈 Football
The UNC Football staff shakeup that many had thought would happen, finally did. Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer were let go by head coach Bill Belichick on Friday:
“The UNC offense ranked among the worst in the nation in 2025. Among 136 FBS teams, the Tar Heels finished the regular season No. 131 in total offense, No. 121 in scoring offense (19.3), and No. 119 in red zone offense (77.1% scoring rate). Only seven teams scored fewer touchdowns (25) than UNC.”
Now the search begins for the Tar Heels’ next offensive coordinator, and several names are starting to surface as potential candidates. Here are a few:
Chip Kelly: Former Oregon Ducks head coach, Ohio State offensive coordinator, and Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator
Andy Kotelnicki: Former Penn State offensive coordinator
Brian Daboll: Former New York Giants head coach
Bobby Petrino: Arkansas interim head coach
Wide receiver Kennedy Uzoma has announced his intention to enter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2. Inside Carolina has the complete list, which currently stands at 17 players.
In the NFL, Drake Maye rushed for two touchdowns but passed for a season-low 155 yards as the Patriots blew a 24-7 halftime lead in falling to the Bills, 35-31. Other Tar Heel notables from this week in the NFL, courtesy of R.L. Bynum at Tar Heel Tribune, include…
Javonte Williams ran for 91 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 34-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Omarion Hampton rushed for 61 yards in the Chargers’ 16-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Josh Downs caught an 8-yard TD pass from 44-year old, recently un-retired QB Philip Rivers in the Colts’ 18-16 loss to the Seahawks.
🏀 Basketball
The box score says that the Tar Heels beat USC Upstate by 18 points on Saturday, outscoring the Spartans by 9 in each half, but it sure didn’t feel that way to Hubert Davis, the players, or UNC basketball fans. As Caleb Wilson pointed out postgame:
“Our preparation in practice the couple of days before wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. As a team, we’ve just got to approach it stronger, better, just have more energy and enthusiasm, no matter who we play.”
One player who didn’t exhibit a post-exam hangover was Jonathan Powell. The sophomore shooting guard had a career day off the bench, posting 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.
A few other nuggets from the postgame notes:
Caleb Wilson led both teams with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks.
UNC had 20 assists on 28 field goals, its highest assist-percentage of the season (71.4%).
It was the eighth time in 10 games at least four Tar Heels scored in double figures.
Seth Trimble continues to progress in his recovery from a broken arm. Trimble had the cast removed two weeks ago, switched to a brace last week, and watched from the sidelines on Saturday with nothing on his arm. Hubert Davis on Trimble’s recovery:
“It’s going very well. In regards to him working out, he’s doing everything that’s non-contact. And so the next step is doing everything with contact. And so my hope is that Seth will be out there soon.”
Off the court, UNC Basketball continued its annual tradition of taking local children on a holiday shopping spree, funded by the sale of Tar Heel autographed basketballs. There are still some signed team basketballs available at the link above for those Carolina fans on your shopping list.
Finally, former North Carolina forward Armando Bacot continues his entrepreneurial acquisitions, even as he’s playing professionally in Turkey this season. The UNC rebounding king announced that he has closed on his second hotel property. This one in Raleigh near Crabtree.
🏀 Women’s Basketball
No. 12 UNC Women’s Basketball got off to an 0-1 start in ACC play after falling to No. 22 Louisville, 76-66, on Sunday night in Chapel Hill.
Freshman Taliyah Henderson had a breakout game going 3-for-3 from 3-point range to lead the Tar Heels with 13 points. But with UNC leading by one point with 5.4 seconds remaining in regulation, the Tar Heels missed two free throws, allowing the Cardinals to tie the game with 0.4 seconds remaining. Carolina would be outscored 10-0 in overtime.
⚾ Baseball
Congratulations to former UNC pitcher and current Arizona Diamondbacks star Zac Gallen, who put to rest all of the free-agent rumors swirling around him this offseason by clarifying that he’s no longer “on the market” after getting married last weekend. 💍
Also in UNC-related MLB news, the Diamond Heels will be featured in the 2026 edition of the “MLB The Show” video game.
UNC is one of 11 college baseball programs who will be added to the video game “MLB The Show 26” as part of its “Road to the Show” mode.
🏅 Olympic Sports
🏃♀️ Vera Sjöberg is your ACC Women’s Track Performer of the Week after running the 8th-fastest 3,000m time in NCAA history last week (8:43.06). Sjöberg shattered UNC’s twenty-two-year-old school record previously held by Shalane Flanagan.
⚽ On the pitch, UNC Men’s Soccer standouts men’s soccer standouts Dylan Kropp (second team) and Luca Nikolai (third team) have been named United Soccer Coaches All-South Region after their outstanding seasons.
🏑 At the Field Hockey Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile, UNC’s Reese Anetsberger, Dani Mendez, and future Tar Heel Sofia Ferri upset No. 4 England to advance to the 5th-place match, where they fell to Germany, 3-1.
Finally, No. 22 UNC Wrestling upset No. 17 West Virginia and is off to their best start (6-0) in 20(!) years following their dominant 27-7 victory over the Mountaineers on Friday.
🎂 This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Happy birthday shoutouts to…
Sam Aiken, 8-year NFL wide receiver: Dec. 14 (45)
King Rice, 2x ACC Champion point guard, Monmouth basketball head coach: Dec. 14 (57)
Carlton Bailey, All-ACC defensive lineman, 10-year NFL veteran: Dec. 15 (61)
Charlie Scott, Basketball Hall-of-Fame; 2x NCAA All-American; 3x NBA All-Star; Olympic Gold Medalist: Dec. 15 (77)
Pat Sullivan, 1993 Basketball National Champion, UNC asst. coach: Dec. 15 (54)
Bill Chamberlain, Second Black basketball player in UNC history, honored Smith Center jersey: Dec. 16 (1949-2025)
Sara Daavettila, Seven-time Women’s Tennis All-America, National Champion: Dec. 17 (28)
James Hurst, 3x All-ACC offensive lineman, 10-year NFL veteran: Dec. 17 (34)
Joe Wolf, All-ACC forward, 13-year NBA veteran, 21-year college & pro basketball coach: Dec. 17 (1964-2024)
Neil Fingleton, UNC Basketball center, former tallest man in European Union, film actor: Dec. 18 (1980-2017)
Bobby Jones, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, UNC All-American, 1983 NBA Champion, 4x NBA All-Star, 1972 Olympian: Dec. 18 (74)
Ethan Horton, 1984 ACC Player of the Year, 1991 NFL Pro Bowl running back, UNC honored No. 12 jersey: Dec. 19 (63)
Chuck Hartman, Baseball, American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame: Dec. 20 (1934-2020)
🏁 Final Thoughts
Thanks again to everyone for supporting the Tar Heel Times Newsletter. I hope you had a great weekend, and please leave a comment to let me know how you’re enjoying the content so far, what you’d like to see more of, or anything else that’s on your mind. I truly appreciate your support.
Go Heels!
James