CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Investigators looking into conduct within Bill Belichick’s North Carolina football program examined a range of allegations tied to potential drug use, inappropriate relationships and NCAA rule violations.
They talked to the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach among a lengthy list of interviewees.
“Our scope was broad, so we looked into a lot of stuff,” lead investigator Nate Huff said Thursday.
And when the probe concluded, Belichick’s son had joined a longtime confidant of his father’s in resigning from the program.
The school released a statement Thursday morning saying Steve Belichick’s resignation as defensive coordinator would be effective in late October at the conclusion of a medical leave, which was announced early in preseason camp. That made him the second high-profile resignation amid the probe, the other being general manager Michael Lombardi earlier this month.
According to UNC’s statement, the school’s investigation “determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina’s values and standards of conduct.”
The probe included an interview with the 74-year-old Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles before making his NFL-to-college transition in December 2024.
In Belichick’s first news conference after Lombardi’s Sept. 3 resignation, he faced questions that largely dealt nothing with football. Belichick said he believes his program “totally” has an atmosphere of following rules, saying: “Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly. And we intend to do that.”
That same day, UNC vice chancellor for communications Dean Stoyer — who released Thursday’s statement — said the school “continues to support Bill Belichick and the Carolina football program.”
The school announced its probe in late July in the days after putting Lombardi on paid administrative leave. The same day Lombardi resigned, WRAL of Raleigh cited anonymous sources in reporting the type of questions asked of some interviewees, with some focusing on Steve Belichick.
The school also announced Thursday that freshman receiver Keeyun Chapman is suspended indefinitely after he was arrested Tuesday night during a traffic stop. He faces a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon, according to the arrest report from the Chapel Hill Police Department.
UNC visits Clemson on Saturday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.