Tensions inside the University of North Carolina football program are reaching a breaking point.
After a brutal 38–10 loss to Clemson on Saturday, October 4, parents of North Carolina football players and members of the university’s leadership are now publicly questioning head coach Bill Belichick’s leadership and the culture surrounding the team.
“It’s all starting at the top, and the boys are being affected,” one anonymous parent of a current player told WRAL News. “I don’t fault the players; I fault the leadership that created this toxic environment. There’s an individualistic mindset. The boys are young, and they are feeding into it.”
According to WRAL, the Tar Heels’ struggles on the field, and their 2-3 start under Belichick, 73, reflect deeper problems behind-the-scenes. Insiders describe a fractured locker room, clashing egos, and a lack of communication between coaches, players, and parents.
“There’s been no communication with coaches and parents, period,” one parent said. “None, zero, zilch. Not one email from a coach, one text, phone call, nothing.”
A source described the current situation at North Carolina as “an unstructured mess.”
“There’s no culture, no organization,” the source added. “It’s a complete disaster.”
Belichick was hired in December 2024 after the firing of longtime head coach Mack Brown, who led UNC to six straight bowl-eligible seasons starting in 2018. But Belichick’s attempt to bring his six-time Super Bowl winning NFL-style system to the college game appears to have backfired.
According to WRAL, Belichick and his general manager Michael Lombardi, who he worked with extensively in the NFL, overhauled the roster almost immediately, bringing in more than 70 new players through high school signings and the transfer portal. The move reportedly created a clear divide between Brown’s holdovers and the new recruits.
“It started with recruits coming in acting entitled to certain things,” one source said. “It was about them individually, not the team. It was about me and what I was going to do.”
Parents and players claim some transfers have received preferential treatment, including better parking, more tickets, and family field access on game days, while others feel overlooked or shut out entirely.
The frustration extends beyond the locker room. Several parents told WRAL that communication from the coaching staff has been nonexistent, a stark change from the last staff who had a far more open style with parents.
Belichick’s staff has also faced scrutiny for its inexperience and nepotism. Both of Belichick’s sons, Steve and Brian Belichick, hold key defensive positions, while Lombardi’s son Matt serves as quarterbacks coach.
“Steve hasn’t talked or had a conversation with most of the guys on defense,” another insider told WRAL. “They don’t even have his number. “The lack of experience the coaches have, it’s ridiculous.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Belichick and Carolina Athletics for comment.
Despite the chaos, Belichick has continued to defend his process.
“It’s a lack of concentration,” he told reporters after Saturday’s loss. “And part of that is coaching, too, so I’ll take my share of the responsibility. We’re going to keep working and grinding. We’re going to move on the right track.”
UNC officials are also publicly backing the process, for now.
The University of North Carolina has released Bill Belichick’s head coaching salary and additional details of the contract. UNC publicly shared the legal agreement on Thursday, January 23, after Belichick, 72, officially signed on the dotted line. His contract is a five-year deal that includes a $10 million annual salary. On top of the base […]
“It’s not the kind of thing that we judge after four games or even after one season,” UNC chancellor Lee Roberts said at a Board of Trustees meeting before the loss to Clemson. “These things take time. We last won the conference championship in 1980, and so we have significant work to do, significant investment to make to get the program where we want it to be.”
But inside the locker room, patience appears to be running out.
“There’s no unity,” one source close to the team said. “The players don’t trust the coaches, and the coaches don’t know how to reach the players. It’s getting worse every week. There are certain ways to operate in the NFL that you can’t do in college.”
Belichick and North Carolina return from their bye week on Friday, October 17, against the Cal Golden Bears.
