Bill Belichick’s stunning move to college football is already unraveling, with both the legendary coach and University of North Carolina officials reportedly discussing buyout options less than two months into his first season.
The 73-year-old NFL icon signed a five-year, $50 million contract with UNC in December 2024, but his Tar Heels sit at 2-3 with blowout losses to every Power Four opponent they’ve faced.
Now, according to multiple reports, “preliminary conversations” about potential exit strategies have begun at UNC.
Belichick has “discussed buyout options with North Carolina’s hierarchy” and has “signaled a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout if he can find a soft landing with another team or in media,” according to college football journalist Ollie Connolly of The Guardian.
“Members of Belichick’s coaching staff have already spoken to other schools that are expected to be in CFB Playoff about taking on roles during the postseason,” Connolly reported. “From one coach: ‘the rats are leaving the ship’. Some staffers believe a change will come within two weeks.”
According to 247Sports’ David Jones, UNC administrators have begun discussing potential exit strategies over evidence of rules violations by Belichick’s staff. Jones said it is not certain Belichick coaches UNC’s road game at California on October 18.
“The fast-rolling snowball seems to be related to accounts of potential rules violations,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noted. The focus for UNC in these discussions “would be to eliminate or minimize Belichick’s buyout” after signing him to the massive contract.
This week, cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins was suspended for providing extra benefits to player families, and reports emerged that players were selling free tickets they had received for games. Jones noted in his report, citing unnamed sources, that “there are many other violations that have occurred, many on the recruiting front.”
The on-field results have been disastrous. North Carolina has been outscored by Power Four opponents 120-33 this season, losing to TCU, UCF, and Clemson by 34, 25, and 28 points respectively. Their only wins came against Charlotte of the American Conference and FCS program Richmond.
Clemson piled up 28 points in the first quarter against UNC in Week 6—the most ever allowed by a Belichick-coached team in a single quarter at any level, including his NFL career.
Beyond the struggles on the field and on the recruiting front, Belichick’s tenure has been marred by a fractured locker room. According to a report from WRAL, a local TV station in Raleigh, UNC’s locker room has been divided due in large part to a “disorganized” coaching staff.
“It’s an unstructured mess,” a source reportedly told WRAL. “There’s no culture, no organization. It’s a complete disaster.”
The chaos has been evident to students on campus as well.
“Campus is dead,” UNC junior Arth Vijay told WRAL. “Everyone is kind of walking around. No one talks.”
Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, who is 24 years old, has assumed a central role around Belichick and the program, raising eyebrows. An appearance by Belichick on CBS’s Sunday Morning promoting a recent book raised questions about the extent of Hudson’s control over the coach’s moves.
Under the terms of Belichick’s contract, UNC would owe him everything he was set to be paid through December 2027 if the school fires him before that date—roughly $30 million. However, if Belichick departs for another job, he pays UNC $1 million, a scenario which might be attractive to the struggling program. That figure dropped from $10 million on June 1.
According to reports, if Belichick can’t find another job to trigger his own buyout, he’s likely to accept a significantly reduced rate to release him from his UNC contract.
Durham attorney Andrew Fine, who has experience in NIL consulting and athlete representation, said that if UNC decided to fire Belichick, they likely wouldn’t have enough based on what is known publicly to fire him with cause.
“Given the history of how that term has been used and the things that have been used to constitute a lack of institutional control, I think it would be a difficult case to make those two violations, if you want to call them, that constitute a lack of institutional control on the part of coach Belichick,” Fine said.
North Carolina is currently on a bye week before facing California on October 18.
Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots and is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. His decision to leave the professional ranks for college football shocked the sports world when it was announced last December.