CHAPEL HILL \u2014 University of North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the son of head coach Bill Belichick, is resigning following an internal investigation that found actions within the football program that demonstrated “a disregard for Carolina’s values and standards of conduct,” the University said Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steve Belichick has been on medical leave<\/a> for more than a month. His resignation will be effective on Oct. 27, when the medical leave ends, the university said.<\/p>\n Specifics about his leave haven\u2019t been publicly disclosed by the university. Steve Belichick didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The departure comes two weeks after WRAL reported<\/a> that outside investigators, hired by UNC, had questioned people close to the program about whether Steve Belichick had used drugs on the job or whether he provided drugs to at least one player. The report cited multiple people familiar with the investigation.<\/p>\n Investigators on Thursday confirmed that they asked about allegations of drug use among people in the program, but they declined to provide specifics citing attorney-client privilege.<\/p>\n \u201cThe category of issues that we looked at included allegations related to drugs, and I investigated those allegations,\u201d said Nate Huff, a private lawyer who was hired to lead the investigation\u201c… University leadership can consider and make decisions about what, if any, corrective actions need to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n UNC didn\u2019t give an explicit reason for Steve Belichick\u2019s resignation. But it announced the departure in the same statement describing findings of its internal investigation into the \u201cculture and climate\u201d of the football program.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina\u2019s values and standards of conduct,\u201d UNC said in its statement. \u201cThe investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Newton, UNC\u2019s vice chancellor and general counsel, said that the issues didn\u2019t meet that standard because of the ability to fix the issues. Lombardi and Steve Belichick were the only two people who resigned during the course of the investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my mind, it\u2019s if we didn\u2019t have effective corrective actions,\u201d Newton told WRAL. \u201cIf we could not identify and be confident in executing or having already executed corrective actions that go to the root cause of the problem. I think we can do that here and [we\u2019re] in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n Huff and his team conducted about 60 interviews, including with Bill Belichick, in the course of their work, which began in late July, he told WRAL and other outlets on Thursday. The investigation started with allegations from former employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was also the instruction to make this more than that,\u201d said Huff, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at the law firm Barnes & Thornburg.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9 WRAL<\/p>\n Huff said he had access to the entire football program, even during the season, and that Bill Belichick made any and all members of his staff available to investigators.<\/p>\n \u201cI had full run of the facility and the people that I needed to do my work and I was able to do that thoroughly and I made my recommendations and findings available to my client,\u201d Huff said.<\/p>\n UNC said the investigation is complete and that \u201call necessary corrective actions are now underway and will be overseen by Carolina Athletics and the Office of University Counsel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShould credible new information arise, the University will evaluate it and take appropriate action consistent with its policies and responsibilities,\u201d UNC said.<\/p>\n Steve Belichick\u2019s departure comes two weeks after the resignation of General manager Michael Lombardi, a longtime confidant of Bill Belichick. Lombardi was placed on paid administrative leave before the season, resigning on Sept. 3, minutes before WRAL published a report about the expanding internal probe.\u00a0<\/p>\n The UNC statement that announced the investigation\u2019s findings also mentioned Lombardi\u2019s departure, but it didn\u2019t say whether the resignation was a direct result of the investigation. Lombardi hasn\u2019t responded to multiple requests for comment. Lombardi\u2019s attorney, Tom Mars, previously told WRAL that Lombardi had been interviewed by investigators and that his client had complied with the investigation. Mars has publicly called the investigation a \u201cwitch hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n Huff said part of the investigation centered on the working environment in the football program.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it a safe and respectful environment?\u201d he said. \u201cDo the young people who work there have good supervision and mentorship and all that? So the questions you\u2019re asking get to that, too, which might be more important than who\u2019s sleeping with who.\u201d<\/p>\n UNC also said in its statement Thursday that, separate from the investigation, freshman wide receiver Keeyun Chapman has been suspended indefinitely by the program. Chapman faces a gun charge after a traffic stop Tuesday. Chapman was a passenger in the vehicle, according to police.<\/p>\n \u201cChapman\u2019s suspension, like the actions resulting from the investigation, reflect the university\u2019s commitment to accountability and the well-being of its student athletes,\u201d the university said. \u201cWe believe the steps announced today will help make Carolina Football a stronger program and one that continues to earn the pride of the entire Carolina community.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Belichick is in the final year of a two-year, $2.7 million contract. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.<\/p>\n North Carolina visits Clemson for its first ACC game of the season Saturday. Chapman and fellow wide receiver C.J. Sadler aren\u2019t expected to play<\/a> in the game. In addition to Chapman’s gun charge, Sadler was cited for driving at least 60 mph in a 35-mph zone following the traffic stop on Tuesday. <\/p>\n The resignations, Chapman\u2019s gun citation 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\u2019s tenure has generated far more off-field headlines than on-field success, including allegations of a divided locker room<\/a>, questions about the influence<\/a> his girlfriend has over his media projects, a spate of traffic citations and parking complaints<\/a>, and the suspension of an assistant coach that coincided with a memo reminding members of the program that selling complimentary tickets<\/a> could violate NCAA rules.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tFull UNC statement<\/p>\n UNC issued a detailed statement Thursday on its investigation, Belichick and Chapman. Here is the full\u00a0 statement:<\/p>\n \u201cThe University has concluded a thorough and independent investigation into allegations related to culture and climate within the Carolina football program.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina\u2019s values and standards of conduct. The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the University previously announced, General Manager Michael Lombardi resigned from the program effective September 3. Steve Belichick has resigned from his position of defensive coordinator, effective October 27, 2026, following the conclusion of his current medical leave.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout the investigation, the University has been guided by the legal advice of outside counsel. All necessary corrective actions are now underway and will be overseen by Carolina Athletics and the Office of University Counsel. With these actions, the University considers the investigation to be resolved.<\/p>\n \u201cConsistent with University policy regarding personnel matters, there will be no further comment on individuals. As always, should credible new information arise, the University will evaluate it and take appropriate action consistent with its policies and responsibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Separately, Carolina Football has suspended Keeyun Chapman from the team indefinitely in connection with an incident Tuesday night. Chapman\u2019s suspension, like the actions resulting from the investigation, reflect the University\u2019s commitment to accountability and the well-being of its student athletes. We believe the steps announced today will help make Carolina Football a stronger program and one that continues to earn the pride of the entire Carolina community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAPEL HILL \u2014 University of North Carolina defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the son of head coach Bill Belichick,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[359709,99,26977,134299],"class_list":["post-851355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-only-on-wral","tag-sports","tag-unc-sports","tag-wral-specialists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}