Bill Belichick explains not putting numbers on player roster: 'We earn it'

Bill Belichick arrives in Chapel Hill with a championship culture, and brings with him a unique philosophy — you have to earn everything. That includes your jersey number.

When fans go to the 2025 UNC roster page on the North Carolina athletics website, no jersey numbers are found next to the names of players. On Wednesday, Belichick revealed the decision-making behind omitting jersey numbers from initial the roster list when he addressed the media ahead of spring ball.

“There’s not much of an explanation, that’s just what we do. We go out there and we earn it. The numbers and what color gloves we wear and all that is not as important as doing your job and being responsible and accountable to your teammates and being a good teammate,” Belichick explained. “Our focus is on the team. We’re just all out there, working, practicing, trying to get better. It’s coaches, players, all of us.

“It’s not all about individual notoriety right now, it’s about trying to put together a team. … I don’t think that’s important at this time of year. I think it’s more important to just go out there, practice well and improve every day. That’s what we emphasize.”

Belichick noted that he used this method in New England for years. However, they had to stop due to rule changes in the NFL.

Of course, he had success with this philosophy during his time as the head coach for the New England Patriots where he famously won six Super Bowls alongside quarterback Tom Brady. He has eight rings overall and is considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport.

Selflessness is often a quality spoken about regarding championship caliber teams. While Tom Brady is considered one of the greatest QBs of all time, he regularly took pay cuts during his NFL career to help save the team cap space and keep his team competitive during free agency.

In this case, Belichick is asking his North Carolina players to keep the brightly-colored accessories in the locker room, put on a blank Carolina blue jersey and get to work this spring.

North Carolina will not have a spring game to round out their spring practices, Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi announced. That means the first time fans will be able to see Belichick’s North Carolina team won’t be until the season opener on Monday, Sept. 1 against TCU at home.