‘The NFL isn’t an option’: As questions swirl about Belichick’s UNC contract, some answers
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UNC football hires Bill Belichick to be its next head coach
Bill Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl victories during the 2000s and 2010s. He has never been a college football head coach. UNC picked him to lead the the Tar Heels following the firing of Mack Brown. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer.
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Those around Bill Belichick say North Carolina’s new football coach is dutifully going about his football business, recruiting, looking to put together his first staff, further evaluating players, preparing for his first season.
But some questions surrounding the coach has caused some uneasiness among UNC fans.
– Has Belichick signed a contract with the school?
– Should he be offered an NFL job, would he owe the university a $10 million buyout?
– When will Belichick’s staff be announced?
Belichick has reserved nearly all his comments about UNC for his weekly appearances on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN. He has said nothing about his contract status or potential interest in NFL jobs. He has commented on such NFL news as the New England Patriots hiring Mike Vrabel, who played for Belichick with the Pats.
Belichick’s newly hired general manager, Michael Lombardi, has been the one going public to nix any talk about Belichick bolting UNC before he coaches a game.
Lombardi, appearing Thursday on the McAfee show, said Belichick was recruiting in Baltimore and in the Washington, D.C., area and that the NFL was not an option for the six-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots.
“We’re trying to get some players to become Tar Heels. We’re excited,” Lombardi said to McAfee, adding any talk about Belichick possibly leaving amounted to negative recruiting.
Lombardi’s appearance came after Jonathan Jones of cbssports.com wrote in an X post on social media that Belichick had not signed a contract with UNC. Jones noted it was not uncommon in college for a coach to agree to a term sheet and later sign a contract.
Lombardi responded to that post with one of his own, saying, “The NFL isn’t an option so stop making it one.”
Lombardi told McAfee that Belichick has been criticized for “not speaking out” and added,“That’s what I’m supposed to do as the general manager here, to let people know what’s going on with our program. …
“He’s not going anywhere. This is where he wants to be.”
On the contract, Lombardi told McAfee that at a state university there were a “lot of hurdles” to be cleared before a final contract is ready to be signed. Lombardi said he had not signed a contract.
UNC posts its coaches contracts on its official athletic website (goheels.com). Belichick’s term sheet agreement is posted; there is nothing posted for Lombardi or Steve Belichick, who was a defensive assistant for his father with the Pats and the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington during the 2024 season.
All three are listed on the university’s student, faculty and staff directory -- Steve Belichick as defensive coordinator.
Belichick’s term sheet was digitally signed by Belichick and signed by Nate Knuffman, vice chancellor for finance and operations. Both signatures appear to be partially redacted.
UNC senior associate athletic director Robbi Pickeral Evans, handling football communications during the program transition, replied Thursday to an email from the N&O on Belichick’s contract status.
Evans said in an email that employment terms that have been agreed on were on UNC’s contracts site. On the signatures, Evans wrote: “Signatures on contracts are typically redacted.”
Until the final contracts are signed and formal announcements made on the new staff, questions should remain.
Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, posted an Instagram photo Thursday of her and Belichick standing together, with a light-blue background and Hudson holding a football.
It was captioned, “Pictured: two people who are overtly committed to @uncfootball.”
Hudson also has a photo of herself in a UNC sweatshirt and another of her in the Kenan Football Center.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM with the headline "‘The NFL isn’t an option’: As questions swirl about Belichick’s UNC contract, some answers."
