Another crisis for Bill Belichick: UNC places GM Michael Lombardi on administrative leave amid investigation

The second season for Bill Belichick at North Carolina is off to a disastrous start, as the team prepares to start practice this week, with general manager Michael Lombardi being placed on administrative leave by the school.

In the initial release, no details were provided as to why Lombardi had been placed on the sidelines, but it should be noted that it was the school who made the decision and not the athletic department.

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“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has placed Michael Lombardi, general manager for the Carolina football program, on paid administrative leave, effective immediately,” the school announced.

“As is standard procedure with personnel matters, leadership, staff, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this topic further, and has no reflection on its merits.”

OutKick-FOX News Digital has confirmed this investigation stems from a complaint filed by a former staffer to the human resources department at UNC.

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The former long time NFL executive was part of a package deal at North Carolina when the school hired Bill Belichick to lead the football program. Lombardi took the general manager position, where he is being paid $1.5 million to handle the building of Belichick’s football team.

General manager Michael Lombardi talks with head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels before a game against the Richmond Spiders at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sept. 13, 2025. (Getty Images)

Underwhelming results for Bill Belichick, as pressure builds

As for what has transpired since the hiring of the legendary Super Bowl winning head coach, it has been nothing short of a disaster. The fact that Belichick had zero experience as a college football head coach did not deter members of the North Carolina board of trustees from going after what they perceived to be a ‘splash hire’ following the 2024 season in Chapel Hill.

Since then, the football program has been garnering headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Whether that was Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, essentially acting as though she was part of the decision-making process for everything related to her boyfriend, the disastrous interviews that transpired (CBS Sunday Morning) or UNC ending the 2025 season with a 4-8 record, the expectations have been drastically tempered since the day he was fired.

Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Jordon Hudson watch before the game against the Richmond Spiders at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sept. 13, 2025. (Lance King/Getty Images)

Now, with the season just one month away, the football program is dealing with another controversy that relates to a staffer. But, not only has Michael Lombardi been a lightning-rod for attention, the way in which they’ve put together a football team has led to many questions around college football.

Lombardi dubbed North Carolina as the NFL’s ’33rd team’, which backfired in spectacular fashion with the results we saw on the field last season.

And, with another round of transfers being brought in this past off-season out of the portal, there are no guarantees that the 2026 season will be a success.

There have been questions about the trajectory for North Carolina football the moment the school fired Mack Brown, to then hire Belichick. Bringing Michael Lombardi with him, along with putting together a staff that is still struggling to find cohesiveness in Chapel Hill, hasn’t been the success story that UNC fans had hoped for.

It’s the drama that has come with the hire that has drawn attention, not the on-field product. I don’t imagine North Carolina fans were expecting the head coach’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, to garner more self-inflicted headlines than Belichick.

But, that’s what happens when you start creating FOIA requests seeking information on who is discussing your name within the athletic department.

Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Oct. 17, 2025. (Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)

What’s next for Lombardi and North Carolina?

The school will continue conducting its investigation into the UNC general manager, as the football program prepares to hit the field this week for practice.

In reality, this is just another problem for the North Carolina football program to navigate, with all eyes on whether Bill Belichick can find success with the Tar Heels.

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For now, an investigation will overshadow what is transpiring on the practice field, and I wouldn’t expect the Tar Heels head coach to say much of anything related to his general manager.

Or, as we like to call it, just another week in Chapel Hill.