After a week of North Carolina and Bill Belichick facing serious drama during their bye, the 2-3 program is getting set to travel to play California on Friday night. Last week, UNC and Belichick released a joint statement shutting down rumors that the former New England Patriots head coach would part ways with the Tar Heels amid a disappointing start to the season.
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All signs point to Belichick staying committed to UNC’s future. The first-year head coach was spotted hitting the recruiting trail at a high school football game in Maryland on Friday night.
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On Monday, Belichick held a news conference. Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Belichick told reporters that any rumor of him planning to leave North Carolina was not true.
“Bill Belichick tells reporters at UNC that any reports of him looking for an exit from UNC are ‘categorically false,'” Thamel posted on X.
Thamel noted that the press conference had a “highly unusual” element. Lee Roberts, North Carolina’s chancellor, was present for the news conference, seeming to signal the Tar Heels are committed to Belichick’s program.
“UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts is in attendance at Bill Belichick’s press conference,” Thamel wrote. “That’s highly unusual for a chancellor to attend a mid-week football presser, a visual sign of the school’s commitment to Belichick.”
UNC has yet to win a game over a Power 4 program under Belichick. The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has wins over Charlotte and Richmond. The Tar Heels were blown out in defeats to TCU, UCF and Clemson.
While having a chancellor in attendance is a sign that the program is behind Belichick currently, it isn’t a good sign for UNC that Roberts felt the need to be there after five games in the new coach’s tenure.
North Carolina has seven more games remaining in the regular season, all of which are ACC games.
It’ll be interesting to see how much the administration backs Belichick if the team continues to lose the rest of the season.
Based on his hefty buyout, North Carolina bought into Belichick for the long term. They might have patience for him to put together a better roster in 2026, regardless of what happens for the rest of this season.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
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