Update: North Carolina AD Offers Vote Of Confidence For Bill Belichick Amid Reports Of Internal Chaos

The Bill Belichick experiment at North Carolina has been turbulent to say the least, as the situation in Chapel Hill has hit a number of rough patches over the past month. 

There have been internal discussions about whether Belichick is the right man to lead the Tar Heels into the future. If you've followed this ordeal since the coaching search to replace Mack Brown began, none of this should come as a surprise. 

Following the loss to Clemson, there have been off-field situations that have come to light that do not paint the football program in the best light, mostly stemming around issues regarding transfers that came to North Carolina with Belichick's staff, according to a report from WRAL.

Update: North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham, along with head coach Bill Belichick have released short statements regarding the current status of the football program. 

"Coach Belichick has the full support of the Department of Athletics and University," Bubba Cunningham said. 

"I'm fully committed to UNC football and the program we're building here," Bill Belichick noted amid reports of internal problems. 

There are also folks inside the athletic department that have seemingly thrown their hands in the air regarding Belichick and his staff, trying to figure out how to turn the narrative regarding the current PR mess. 

According to Ollie Connolly, Belichick has already discussed potential buyout options with school officials. He would also potentially agree to trigger his own buyout clause, which means he could walk away from the job by paying UNC $1 million. 

Right now, North Carolina's compliance department is reportedly investigating multiple potential recruiting violations during the staff's short time within the program. 

On Tuesday, cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins was suspended indefinitely for reportedly providing impermissible benefits to the family of a current player. This had to do with the player's family receiving pregame access to the field, which is an NCAA violation. 

North Carolina Could Use Violations To Force Belichick Decision

But, this was just the beginning of an internal investigation into Belichick's staff, which is being looked into for other violations, according to Connolly. This alone could allow the school to fire Belichick with cause, which means that the head coach would not receive a buyout. 

We have seen plenty of schools use rule violations as a way to get out of a buyout, most notable Tennessee's investigation of Jeremy Pruitt that resulted in his firing in 2021. 

Even if said violations are small, the number of those could be a contributing factor for North Carolina to fire Belichick, if it were to come to that. 

It would cost over $20 million to fire Belichick without cause, with him sighing a five-year deal worth $50 million. 

OutKick has spoken to multiple people within the North Carolina athletic department who have described this whole ordeal as a train wreck that has the potential to get even worse. This dates back to the infamous 60 Minutes interview with Belichick, as girlfriend Jordon Hudson became a bigger part of the story.  

According to Ollie Connoly, a defensive assistant at UNC said the following about what has transpired over the past eight months. 

"What we've done to these kids is fucked up," Connolly reported. 

It is not surprising that the school would be potentially looking for an exit ramp, given the state of the football program. But, that doesn't mean the school would actually do anything, given that it's only been five games. 

There will be different twists to this ongoing situation in Chapel Hill, with UNC having a bye-week. But, the vote of confidence is an interesting twist is this ongoing drama-filled story at North Carolina. 

We will continue to update this story, so follow OutKick for more.