Bill Belichick rarely has much to say, about anything. (Unless, of course, the subject is the evolution of interior offensive line play in the single-wing offense.)
Regarding the placement of his G.M./consigliere Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave, Belichick didn’t have much to say.
“We’re at a particular time of the year now where there are certain things that are in play, and certain things that are in play that will happen later in the calendar year,” Belichick said regarding the manner in which Lombardi’s duties are being delegated internally. “So we’re taking it day to day and work through the things that are on the table right now.”
Belichick also said, as to how the absence of Lombardi impact Belichick’s job, “We’ve made a few adjustments, yeah. But I mean we’re, you know, we’re working through the process.”
It’s no surprise. North Carolina has made it clear that mum will be the word regarding the investigation that sparked Lombardi’s placement on immediate leave.
Still, the school clearly isn’t pleased that it’s dealing with the Lombardi situation.
“I’m disappointed that we’re talking about this,” UNC chancellor Lee Roberts said Thursday, via David Hale of ESPN. “We should be focusing on our student-athletes and on their success. . . . It’s distressing to me and everyone else in the administration entrusted with leadership at this remarkable university that this is something we have to spend time on.”
While the outcome of the investigation and any impact on Lombardi’s employment status remain to be seen, it currently feels like he won’t be back. And few tears will be shed over that.
As recently explained by Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing, the downfall of Lombardi has united sports media in a way few things can. For example, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic eviscerated Lombardi: “Arrogance plus incompetence is a lethal combination.”
None of this surprises anyone who followed Lombardi’s NFL career — especially after Pablo Torre devoted an episode of his podcast last year to taking a closer look at some of the claims Lombardi has made about his role in building Super Bowl champions.
Lombardi’s role in the disaster that has been Belichick’s dalliance in college football is undeniable. And Lombardi’s involvement very well could be over.
Which actually could make things better in Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina coach Bill Belichick opened his second preseason camp saying the program is adjusting internal duties with general manager Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave and the subject of a school investigation.
“We’re working through some things,” Belichick said before the morning’s first official practice. “We’re at a particular time of year now where there are certain things that are in play and certain things that aren’t in play that won’t happen until later in the calendar year at some other point.
“Again, we’re taking it day to day, and working through the things that are on the table now.”
The school announced that Lombardi had been placed on leave but didn’t provide details as to the reason, noting that employees and athletes aren’t permitted to address the topic “as is standard procedure with personnel matters.” About 30 minutes before Belichick spoke to reporters, UNC released another statement that said its Office of University Counsel was conducting an investigation.
Belichick didn’t specify exactly how Lombardi’s duties have been divided among the staff, including referencing “a few adjustments” when asked how much the GM’s absence was changing his own daily tasks.
Lombardi was an immediate addition by Belichick, who was hired as a first-time college coach in December 2024 after leading the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. Lombardi’s career as an NFL executive had included being the GM of the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
On Monday, North Carolina placed UNC football G.M. Michael Lombardi on immediate paid administrative leave. While there have been some reports as to what triggered the situation, the school had said nothing more about it.
On Thursday, UNC issued another statement.
“As a result of concerns behind allegations that led to the personnel action regarding Michael Lombardi announced on July 27, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, through its Office of University Counsel, is in the process of investigating this matter,” the university said, via Pete Thamel of ESPN. “Because this involves confidential personnel issues, the University will not comment on the nature of the allegations or discuss personnel information.”
Thamel reported on Monday that the situation “stems from a human resources complaint filed by a former UNC front office employee.” Pablo Torre later reported that the College Sports Commission is investigating the Tar Heels program.
Obviously, it’s not a small issue. Whatever it is, UNC won’t be saying anything about it. Which is the smart move.
It remains to be seen whether more details leak before the investigation reaches a conclusion.
It’s been a rough Monday for North Carolina football.
The day began with an announcement that UNC football G.M. Michael Lombardi has been placed immediately on paid administrative leave.
Also, Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out reports that the College Sports Commission is investigating the Tar Heels football program.
The CSC enforces NCAA rules regarding institutional revenue sharing, third-party NIL deals, and roster limits.
It’s unclear whether there’s any connection between the Lombardi situation and the CSC investigation.
Pete Thamel of ESPN has reported that the Lombardi investigation was sparked by an internal complaint filed by a former UNC front office employee.
The sudden announcement that North Carolina has placed UNC football G.M. Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave came with no details.
Some details are beginning to emerge.
Pete Thamel of ESPN reports that the move “stems from an human resources complaint filed by a former UNC front office employee.” Thamel adds that there is a “pending investigation, which led to the administrative leave.”
The specifics of the complaint are not mentioned. Whatever they are, it was enough to get the school to place Lombardi on leave while the school explores the situation.
Lombardi is in the second year of a three-year deal that pays a base rate of $1.5 million per year. The contract includes various grounds for a for-cause termination, including "[e]mployee’s material breach of this Agreement, University policies, or the UNC Code.”
An unexpected wrench has been thrown into the efforts of legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick to have a better second season at the college level.
On Monday morning, the University of North Carolina placed UNC football General Manager Michael Lombardi on paid administrative leave.
Here’s the full statement: “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has placed Michael Lombardi, general manager for the Carolina football program, on paid administrative leave, effective immediately. As is standard procedure with personnel matters, leadership, staff, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this topic further, and has no reflection on the merits.” (Someone didn’t proofread the second sentence very carefully.)
No further information has been disclosed.
Lombardi, a former NFL executive who served at one point as G.M. of the Browns, was the first key hire by Belichick after he got the job in December 2024. Lombardi is the table-setter when it comes to talent. (Last year, the table was missing plenty of utensils. And plates.)
Belichick is an excellent coach, when it comes to preparation and game-day decisions. At the college level, talent becomes the difference-maker.
With nothing disclosed or reported (yet) about the underlying reason for the move, it’s impossible to know how long it will last. Or whether it will result in a suspension, a resignation, or a termination.
And while the hay is in the barn for the 2026 UNC roster, recruiting and evaluation never end. For now, the Tar Heels won’t have the top employee responsibility for figuring out who they want in the future, and how to get them.
After 50 years in the NFL, Bill Belichick is starting his second season as a college coach.
He’d like to harmonize the playing rules at the two levels of football.
“You watch multiple games on Saturday and see one set of rules,” Belichick said Friday at the National Football Foundation’s Bill Dooley Chapter Pigskin Preview, via Kamran Nia of the Raleigh News & Observer. “And you turn on the game on Sunday, and you have a different set of rules.”
Differences in pro and college rules have existed for decades. Most notably, receivers at the college level only need to get one foot in bounds to make a catch. In the NFL, it’s two. Likewise, defensive pass interference is a 15-yard penalty in college football. It’s a spot foul in the NFL.
More recently, the NFL’s embrace of the electric-football kickoff has yet to be incorporated into the college game.
There are other differences, when it comes to clock management. Only last year did college football add a two-minute warning, but with a less ominous term.
One one hand, it won’t take much to iron out the differences. On the other hand, the differences don’t significantly change the nature of the game. Football is still football, even with some variations.
It’s unlikely the NFL will adjust its rules to mirror college football. If the NCAA wants to better prepare players, coaches, and officials for the highest level of the sport, it’s for the NCAA to choose to do it.
Regardless, there has rarely been a clamoring for one set of rules. Would it be easier if the rules were the same? Sure. But it’s an issue that is rarely if ever raised.
Now that Belichick has, we’ll see if his stated preference gets any traction.
Bill Belichick’s first season as North Carolina’s head coach did not go as well as anyone affiliated with the university would have liked, with the program finishing 4-8 in 2025.
But Belichick, winner of six Super Bowls as an NFL HC, said this week that things are looking up for the Tar Heels in 2026.
“Overall as a football team, our culture, our program, our ability to operate as a team is much higher than it was a year ago,” Belichick said Friday, via Pete Thamel of ESPN, “and our talent level is higher.”
Belichick added that the program is “way ahead” of where it was a year ago, noting the difference is “night and day.”
Belichick also feels positively about the program’s recruiting class, as he was able to bring in 20 portal players and 40 incoming freshmen.
“Most of the national publications ... ranked us in the top 15 in your recruiting class,” Belichick said. “So I think if you recruit good players, you’re going to have good teams. If you don’t recruit good players, then you’re probably going to have a hard time breaking into that level. So I think we have to consistently bring in good players, continue to work hard, improve and develop them. And I’m confident that we’ll be there. It’s a process.”
The talent level was an issue for UNC in 2025, with Belichick noting that no players from the team were drafted and only two players who were eligible are still on an NFL offseason roster.
“It gives you an idea where we were,” Belichick said.
But the former Patriots and Browns head coach said he’s having fun at the college level.
“I enjoy seeing the kids grow,” he said. “And so you see a lot of growth in kids as they move away from home, as they live on their own and just start to become real adults. So I’ve enjoyed that.”
A new article from Seth Wickersham of ESPN takes a look at Broncos coach Sean Payton’s hectic week before the AFC Championship. While taking a look at it, one thing stood out.
After the Patriots fired coach Bill Belichick following the 2023 season, Payton (who had just finished his first year with the Broncos) “considered suggesting” to owner Greg Penner that Payton would step back to the position of assistant head coach, running the offense. Belichick would hold the job until he won 15 games, breaking Don Shula’s all-time record of 347.
Belichick has 333 total wins, 14 behind Shula. (As regular-season wins go, Shula has 26 more than Belichick: 328 to 302.)
Wickersham explains that, "[i]n the end, it was too complicated — and maybe too fanciful.”
It was, as we understand it, Payton simply thinking out loud. It would have been practically impossible, but he at least formulated the thought out of his respect for Belichick.
Ultimately, it may have been the only way for Belichick to catch Shula. With only one NFL interview in three hiring cycles (including a 2026 turnover that had 10 open jobs), Belichick’s NFL door seems to be closed.
Jordon Hudson keeps trying to extend her 15 minutes of fame.
Upon seeing Thursday’s report from The Assembly that Hudson has requested a broad range of internal North Carolina documents regarding last year’s report from Pablo Torre that she had been “banned” from the UNC football facility, my first reaction was to not give the story the oxygen she wants it to have.
Ignoring it simply because she wants it to be noticed isn’t the right answer. The development, despite being apparently gratuitous, has significance.
On one hand, Hudson is possibly trying to gather evidence that could be used in her promised (but not yet filed) lawsuit against Torre. (She should be paying very close attention to the applicable statutes of limitations, if she’s serious about suing.) On the other hand, she could be fishing for any evidence that could reveal whether and to what extent North Carolina officials were discussing her, internally or externally.
Whatever the explanation, it’s a very bad look for North Carolina coach Bill Belichick. He knows what she’s doing and supports it or he knows what she’s doing and has asked her not to do it or he’s clueless about what she’s doing. Whatever he knows, or doesn’t know, the notion that the girlfriend of the major college head football coach has become a chronic thorn in the side of the institution becomes a potentially major problem for the coach.
That’s the practical impact of her public-records side hustle. It will absolutely impact the manner in which UNC views Belichick. Which will make the bar a little higher for him to earn a third season at UNC.
Already, there’s a sense that Belichick is on the hot seat entering the 2026 season. If firing him means not having to deal with Hudson, firing him becomes a more attractive option. Which means that, if it’s ultimately a close question, Hudson’s antics could turn a decision to keep him for a third year into an announcement that he has been terminated.
Does Hudson not realize how this will impact UNC’s attitude toward her boyfriend? Or does she know it and not care?
This wrinkle serves only to make a strange situation borderline bizarre. Belichick, the ultimate no-distractions/"do your job” head coach, has created a massive distraction through his personal life, one that continues to create developments that take the focus away from what the Tar Heels are trying to do.
Broaden the lens. When has the spouse or significant other of a college or pro head coach created so many issues? (Or any issues?) Hudson has consistently interjected herself into Belichick’s job, and the general reaction has been consistently negative.
Still, she seems to revel in it. Beyond craving fame, she embraces notoriety. At the potential expense of her boyfriend, whose eight-figure job would seem to take precedence over her effort to find ways to get people to write or talk about her in advance of whatever reality-show endgame she may have in mind.
The saddest part of the saga is that she’ll find a small minority on social media who will loudly cheer her on. Even as a vast majority of largely silent observers will constantly be asking themselves questions like, “What the hell has Bill Belichick gotten himself into?”
