David Hale
Bill Belichick’s experiment at North Carolina got off to a disastrous start, but no one seems ready to pull the plug yet.
Amid numerous reports that Belichick and North Carolina were engaged in negotiations to reduce the coach’s buyout after a dismal start to his tenure in Chapel Hill, Belichick and the school released a joint statement Wednesday evening refuting those claims.
“I am fully committed to UNC Football and the program we are building here,” Belichick said in the release.
Athletic director Bubba Cunningham added that Belichick has the “full support” of the UNC administration.
Belichick’s Tar Heels are off to a 2-3 start to the season, losing their three games against Power Four competition by a combined total of 120-33, including a loss to Clemson in the team’s ACC opener on Oct. 4 in which UNC allowed touchdowns on two of the Tigers’ first four plays and trailed 28-3 after the first quarter.
Since Belichick was first mentioned as a candidate for the UNC job, there has been plenty of controversy, from board members allegedly making an unauthorized offer to the former Patriots coach behind the athletic director’s back to an offseason of tabloid speculation about Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
But the past week may have been the most chaotic, from a letter sent by general manager Michael Lombardi to donors calling Carolina’s season a “rebuild,” to players opposing the idea after the Clemson loss, to the scrapping of a planned documentary about the season, to reports that Belichick had banned the UNC social team from calling attention to the former Tar Heels QB’s strong play, Drake Maye, because he didn’t want to promote his former employer, the England New Patriots.
Earlier this week, WRAL also reported on widespread discontent in the locker room, and The Athletic reported that cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins had been suspended for recruiting violations.
All of this preceded reports Wednesday that Belichick could be on his way out by the end of the week, and the two sides were discussing modifiable terms to buy out the remainder of his contract — a five-year deal in which the first three years are guaranteed at $10 million each.
Belichick said after the Clemson game that he continues to talk to recruits and sell them on the future of the program. He also declined to suggest that serious changes were needed for the current team to right the ship.
“The main thing we have to do is continue to do what we’re doing, but do it better,” Belichick said. “Basically we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”
The Tar Heels are scheduled to travel to Cal for their first ACC road game on October 17.
