University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi, the highest-paid general manager in college football, resigned Thursday after a tumultuous tenure in Chapel Hill working alongside Bill Belichick, the university said.
But the investigation is still ongoing, and lawyers hired by the university are now focused on behaviors by defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, people familiar with the investigation tell WRAL.
Lombardi, 67, a longtime Bill Belichick confidant, was placed on paid administrative leave on July 27. Three days later, the university announced its investigation, citing concerns over allegations that led to Lombardi being placed on leave.
“I want to thank Chancellor [Lee] Roberts and Bill Belichick for the opportunity to serve as the GM of UNC Football,” Lombardi said in a statement released through his lawyer. “I have decided it’s best for me to resign my position as GM to allow the team to focus on the ‘26 season.”
UNC said: “The University will continue its ongoing investigation and will consider all appropriate corrective actions responsive to the information it learns.”
The announcement came hours after WRAL questioned university officials Thursday morning about new revelations about the investigation.
Lawyers hired to conduct the investigation are also questioning people about whether defensive coordinator Steve Belichick used drugs on the job or provided drugs to at least one player — and, separately, about whether a member of UNC’s recruiting staff had a sexual relationship with a player, people familiar with the investigation told WRAL. The lawyers also asked about possible sexual relationships between assistant coaches and recruiting staff, the people said.
The nature of the questions, posed in recent weeks to people associated with the team, provide a glimpse into the widening scope of the ongoing probe.
The resignation and new details about the investigation add to a multilayered saga that has unfolded since UNC hired NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick in late 2024 to elevate its football program. The head coach’s tenure has generated far more off-field headlines than on-field success, including allegations of a divided locker room, questions about the influence his girlfriend has over his media projects, a spate of traffic citations and parking complaints, and the suspension of an assistant coach that coincided with a memo reminding members of the program that selling complimentary tickets could violate NCAA rules.
People who were questioned as part of the inquiry told WRAL that they were asked about the culture of the football program under Bill Belichick and Lombardi. They said a lawyer who conducted the interviews was questioning current and former Tar Heels players, their parents and staff members as part of the investigation. The firm was seeking documents and screenshots of text conversations, they said. And the people said they were asked whether they had reported any potentially questionable behavior to Bill Belichick.
These people, whose identities are known to WRAL, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation. WRAL traced identifying information associated with those interviews back to Barnes & Thornburg LLP, the firm that employs the two lawyers — Nate Huff and McNair Nichols — who are leading the investigation’s inquiry work. The interviewees who spoke with WRAL said at least one of those men conducted the interviews. UNC’s Office of University Counsel is overseeing the investigation.
WRAL outlined its findings to the university Thursday, before Lombardi’s resignation, and asked a series of questions related to Steve Belichick and Lombardi. The university didn’t immediately provide a response to those questions. Huff and Nichols didn’t respond to messages seeking comment on the investigation.
UNC has declined to publicly disclose the specific purpose of the Lombardi investigation. “As is standard procedure with personnel matters, leadership, staff, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this topic further,” the university said in a statement after the probe was announced.
Lombardi’s attorney, Tom Mars, told WRAL this week that Lombardi had been interviewed by investigators and that his client had complied with the investigation. Mars has publicly called the investigation a “witch hunt.” The investigation had extended his leave beyond the 30 days prescribed by UNC policy for paid administrative leave.
© WRAL
A week after the Lombardi investigation was launched, on Aug. 6, Bill Belichick disclosed that Steve Belichick, his son, was on medical leave. Details about the specifics of his leave also haven’t been publicly disclosed by the university.
Steve Belichick didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday. WRAL also didn’t immediately receive a response to a request for comment from the athletic department at UNC. He remains on medical leave.
“We look forward to getting him back as soon as possible,” Bill Belichick said when announcing the news last month. “It’s a medical situation so I really can’t make any further comment.”
Neither Lombardi nor Steve Belichick was with the team for North Carolina’s 15-10 season-opening victory over TCU in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, the biggest win of Bill Belichick’s brief tenure in Chapel Hill. UNC’s next game is against East Tennessee State on Sept. 12 in Chapel Hill.
Questions about allegations of sex and drugs
Steve Belichick, 39, served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington in 2024 before joining his father’s staff at UNC. He previously worked for his father with the New England Patriots, playing a role in three of Bill Belichick’s six Super Bowl championships there.
Lawyers conducting the UNC probe focused a series of questions on Steve Belichick, according to people who were interviewed. The people said they were also asked about whether Steve Belichick had used drugs at the university’s facilities or if they knew of anyone who had seen him do so. Assistant coaches can be fired for cause if it is found that they used or distributed illicit drugs, according to UNC employment contracts.
Unrelated to Steve Belichick, sources also told WRAL that the lawyer asked about reports of a purported sexual relationship between a female recruiting staff member and at least one UNC player. The people also said they were asked about similar possible relationships between assistant coaches and recruiting staff. University policy prohibits employees from evaluating or supervising any student or employee they’ve had a romantic relationship with. It was unclear whether the alleged relationships would violate any of those policies.
As general manager, Lombardi oversaw recruiting and negotiations with existing and incoming players. College football teams have long had staff to manage the recruitment of players from high school, including communication with the players and their families and coordinating official visits on campus. Recent NCAA rule changes that have allowed unlimited transfers from colleges as well as direct revenue sharing with players have led teams to adopt larger and more professionalized front-office structures, focused not only on high school player recruitment but college free agency and contract negotiations.
People who were interviewed as part of the investigation said they were also asked about interactions between Lombardi and players.
WRAL has submitted numerous public records requests related to Steve Belichick, Lombardi and other program staff members, including employment records for the two men and members of the recruiting staff. Those requests haven’t been fulfilled by the university.
Lombardi, who signed a three-year contract worth $1.5 million per year, faced criticism for his role in putting together the Tar Heels’ roster for the 2025 season, when UNC went 4-8 and failed to have a single player selected in the NFL Draft. He previously worked with Belichick with the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and on media projects during Belichick’s one season out of coaching. It was Lombardi who first reached out to UNC officials to tell them of Belichick’s interest in the Tar Heels’ job, his first-ever college coaching position.
During last season, Belichick defended Lombardi and his staff’s work. The duo opted to sign 40 true freshmen to help rebuild the roster this offseason at a time when college football teams are looking to get older.
“Michael and his staff did a great job of upgrading the roster, and then it was upgraded again in the spring after spring ball,” Belichick said in October 2025. “I mean our football team is a lot better than what it was at the end of spring ball, I can tell you that.”
‘Other reasons behind this’
Huff and Nichols, the lawyers leading the inquiry, are no strangers to complex investigations. Huff is a former federal prosecutor who has focused on commercial litigation for more than two decades. He also focuses on higher education issues, including collegiate athletics. Nichols has experience with internal investigations and federal enforcement matters involving financial regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
They’re the same lawyers who investigated complaints about UNC’s School of Civic Life and Leadership last year. Their previous firm produced a $1.2-million, 400-plus page report that UNC has never publicly released, citing exemptions from the state’s public-records law. An Orange County judge recently ruled that the university doesn’t have to release any part of the report. WRAL was part of a group of media outlets that brought the lawsuit seeking the public release of the report.
WRAL has requested public records related to the university’s agreements and payments to Huff, Nichols and Wes Camden, a lawyer at the Williams Mullen law firm who is advising UNC on the investigation. Mullen also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“If something is wrong, we want to know about it,” Roberts said in July, when the probe was announced. “If something needs to be fixed, we will be sure to fix it. There’s a standard of excellence here that all of us are entrusted with adhering to.”
Mars, Lombardi’s lawyer, has questioned the legitimacy and potential cost of the investigation, and previously predicted it wouldn’t find serious violations against his client. “This has turned into a snipe hunt with billable hours,” Mars told ESPN recently. “I have an expectation that they have absolutely no grounds to terminate his employment for cause — nothing even close.”
Lombardi’s employment contract required him to abide by UNC employee policies, as well as “policies, regulations and rules that apply to this position,” and that he must cooperate with any investigations. Under the contract, the university could have fired Lombardi if it found a major violation of any state or federal law or any policies or rules set by the NCAA, ACC, and the university. The university can decide what it considers a major violation. Lombardi’s contract also noted that he could be fired for failing to report infractions, including instances in which sexual harassment may have occurred, or if he was found to have permitted or condoned illicit drug use. Steve Belichick’s contract contains the same provisions.
Bill Belichick’s contract stipulates those things and more, requiring him to “promote an atmosphere of compliance” in the program, referring to the same regulatory bodies. It also says he’s responsible for the conduct of his assistant coaches and other program employees, and that he also must report knowledge of the illegal use, sale or possession of drugs or the possible violation of UNC’s policies on sexual harassment or other possible sexual misconduct.
UNC won’t owe Lombardi additional money after his resignation, a person familiar with the matter told WRAL Thursday. Had UNC sought to fire him for cause, it wouldn’t have owed any additional salary, according to his contract. If UNC were to have fired Lombardi for convenience, it would have owed him the remainder of his contracted salary. The same applies to Steve Belichick, who is being paid $1.4 million this year and is the highest-paid assistant football coach at UNC.
Bill Belichick signed a five-year deal worth $50 million. The first three years are guaranteed. If UNC decided to fire him without cause, the university would owe him everything he was set to earn up until Dec. 31, 2027. If it were to find cause for termination, the university wouldn’t be on the hook for any salary, bonuses or supplemental income after termination.
Mars had speculated in interviews that the UNC investigation isn’t just about his client.
“If UNC had grounds to fire Michael for cause, they wouldn’t need to conduct such a far-ranging, lengthy witch hunt,” Mars told The Athletic last week. “They would have done so by now. I think the motive behind the investigation goes further than a $1.5 million buyout. After all, UNC could fire Michael (or the athletic director of any head coach) for no reason at all just by paying their buyout. In today’s world, $1.5 million is just a drop in the bucket, so there must be other reasons behind this multimillion-dollar investigation.”