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The hits unfortunately keep coming for the North Carolina football program, as Bill Belichick announced on Thursday morning that his son, Steve Belichick, is currently not with the team.
As the Tar Heels continue preparing for the upcoming season during fall camp, they are doing so without their defensive coordinator. During his media availability, the UNC head coach told reporters that his son, Steve, was on medical leave.
“Just want to let everyone know that my son Steve’s on medical leave, and look forward to getting him back as soon as possible,” Bill Belichick noted about his son. “It’s a medical situation so I really can’t make any further comment on that.”
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The 2026 season is pivotal for North Carolina to turn things around, coming off a 4-8 year that saw Bill Belichick face a number of questions about the trajectory of his football program amid high-handed scrutiny from Tar Heel fans.
There are rightfully plenty of skeptics regarding the job Belichick has done so far in Chapel Hill, mainly relying on the transfer portal to secure wins in a highly competitive financial market for student-athletes.
But even off the field, there continue to be questions about whether turning the North Carolina program into the NFL’s ’33rd team’ would actually work out in the long run. Early results show that the support among fans is teetering, with an upcoming season that is not likely to produce an ACC championship run.
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In reality, UNC would be lucky to reach a decent postseason bowl game this season, if we’re going off talent alone.
Investigation into GM Michael Lombardi continues
Before fall camp could even get underway, North Carolina was already dealing with off-field issues.
It was announced by the school on July 27 that general manager Michael Lombardi had been placed on administrative leave, following a human resources complaint being filed against him.
“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,” the school announced at the time.
“As is standard procedure with personnel matters, leadership, staff, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this topic further, and has no reflection on its merits.”
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Since then, Lombardi has hired noted attorney Tom Mars to represent him during the school’s investigation into the matter.
On Wednesday, WRAL-TV reported that the school had hired three outside attorneys to help North Carolina in its investigation into the human resources complaint against Lombardi.
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Mars told ESPN that his client is already dealing with the court of public opinion without facts pertaining to the investigation.
“Michael hasn’t been told anything about the nature of UNC’s investigation and welcomes the opportunity to clear his name, which has already been sullied by baseless statements and innuendo on social media,” Tom Mars said. “He is fully cooperating with UNC and expects the investigation will be swift, thorough, and fair.
“Michael would ask that people have the decency to let the process run its course before jumping to any conclusions about the nature of the investigation or whether there’s any merit to whatever has been alleged.”
Pivotal season for North Carolina, especially for Bill Belichick
There is no denying that this will be a make-or-break year for the North Carolina head coach, as the landscape continues to change around college football.
A 4-8 record is not exactly what UNC officials were anticipating when they hired Bill Belichick, hoping he could bring his NFL success to the collegiate level. While the marketing campaigns were running rampant to start the 2025 season, the results left many around the university questioning whether hiring Belichick was the smart move.
Now, entering a season without much fanfare around campus has led to plenty of people wondering if this is actually going to be a long-term solution in bringing UNC back into the college football conversation.
Also, with so many changes taking place around the sport in terms of NIL and revenue-sharing, keeping the focus on football has been a task that many around the program did not anticipate being a problem when Belichick first took the job.
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But, here we are, as North Carolina prepares to face TCU in the season opener with plenty at stake for a number of parties involved.
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