Belichick: UNC focused on ‘doing things properly’
Belichick: UNC focused on 'doing things properly'. Skip to main content Skip to navigation Belichick: UNC focused on 'doing things properly'North Carolina Tar Heels25mWeek 1 overreactions: LSU is back!
What happened
"Obviously everybody's responsible, including me, for doing things properly," Belichick said. Bill Belichick said Monday he believes UNC "totally" had an atmosphere of following rules amid a school investigation into conduct within his football program. "Later Monday, a school spokesman issued a statement backing the 74-year-old Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles with the NFL's New England Patriots. "The University continues to support Bill Belichick and the Carolina football program," said Dean Stoyer, UNC's vice chancellor for communications.
"Those developments have only added to a year's worth of unwanted headlines off the field to go with shaky play on it under Belichick. By Monday, reporters spent roughly the first 13 minutes of Belichick's 20-minute game week news conference asking questions that had nothing to do with Saturday's upcoming home debut against East Tennessee State. That included whether his program had an atmosphere of rule compliance and if Belichick had "control" over the program.
The wider picture
"If you're around here every day, I think you'd see it," Belichick said. Belichick was also asked whether he had spoken to chancellor Lee Roberts and athletic director Steve Newmark about his job security. And if there's things we need to do to correct it, then we'll obviously do them. "The Tar Heels tallied more losses by double-digit margins (five) than wins (four) in Belichick's debut season, along with distractions such as an assistant coach being briefly suspended for violating NCAA rules.
Belichick said in July he had hoped lessons learned would lead to more success in Year 2. The Tar Heels got that with the 15-10 win against TCU after losing to the Horned Frogs by 34 in Belichick's UNC debut. "We're so focused on everything internal and getting better on the field and getting better in the meeting room that we could care less about what we see in the headlines or what's on the news," running back Benjamin Hall said.
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What has been reported
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Virginia Tech Hokies3dAndrea AdelsonLet's predict the NFL draft — eight months early: Kiper's 10 big preseason takesTexas Longhorns3dMel Kiper Jr. playNorth Carolina takes down TCU in Ireland (1:38)ESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsSep 7, 2026, 04:23 PM ETEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCHAPEL HILL, N. The Tar Heels were off following their season-opening win against TCU in Ireland on Aug. But during that open week, general manager Michael Lombardi resigned after being put on paid administrative leave in late July amid an investigation by UNC's Office of University Counsel.
The scope of that investigation has since widened and has included attorneys reaching out to UNC staffers, coaches and even coaches' wives and girlfriends, sources told ESPN's David Hale. Questions have been asked of witnesses about Lombardi's role in hiring and firing decisions regarding female and minority staffersTwo people with knowledge of the situation had previously told the AP that a human resources complaint from a former employee was tied to Lombardi originally being placed on leave as the investigation launched.
They spoke at the time on condition of anonymity because the school wasn't publicly discussing case details, with UNC saying employees and athletes weren't permitted to discuss the topic "as is standard procedure with personnel matters.
What happens next
He responded by looking ahead to the ETSU game, though he later elaborated more on his relationship with school officials when asked whether they had asked him to change anything in running the program. "They've been very supportive, a great working relationship with those people," he said. "In the end, look, we want to run the program in the very best way. But the past week take some glow off that victory. "The Associated Press contributed to this report.