UNC opens investigation into football GM Lombardi as chancellor vows to ‘fix’ problems if they exist :: WRAL.com

CHAPEL HILL — The University of North Carolina’s Office of University Counsel is leading an investigation into football general manager Michael Lombardi just days after Lombardi was placed on paid administrative leave over allegations made last week about a personnel matter.

The investigation was announced Thursday morning, hours before second-year head coach Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels opened preseason practice. UNC kicks off the 2026 season on Aug. 29 in Ireland against TCU.

“If something has gone wrong, we want to know about it,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said Thursday. “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.”

The university “learned of some concerns last week,” Roberts said. It placed Lombardi on administrative leave Monday morning and announced the investigation Thursday.

Belichick and athletics director Steve Newmark declined to comment on reports of a potential investigation into North Carolina by the new College Sports Commission.

Lombardi, a longtime Belichick associate and the first person Belichick hired when he became the Tar Heels’ head coach in late 2024, is the highest-paid general manager in college football at $1.5 million under terms of his three-year contracts that runs through the 2027 football season.

Newmark said he was hopeful that the process would be expedited.

“It’s the obligation and duty of the university — as stewards of our students, faculty and the whole UNC community — to take it seriously, to evaluate and to figure out what are the appropriate next steps,” North Carolina athletics director Steve Newmark said.

He continued: “It’s paramount for us to do what’s right to make sure it’s a full and fair revenue and that we don’t do anything to compromise the integrity of that process. And because there are so many confidential personnel details, that’s why there is so much restraint on sharing anything while the process plays out.”

Lombardi hasn’t responded to several requests for comment from WRAL this week.

Belichick met with the media Thursday morning, but declined to get into specifics about the Lombardi situation. A spokesperson for the football program announced before Thursday’s press conference that “all staff, coaches and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing the situation regarding Michael Lombardi in any capacity.”

Belichick said the program has made a few adjustments to compensate for Lombardi’s absence. August is typically a recruiting dead period, though recruiting ramps up during high school football season throughout the fall. Lombardi oversees the program’s recruiting operations and handles negotiations with players and agents about contracts.

“We’re working through some things,” Belichick said. “We’re at a particular time of year now where there are certain things that are in play and there are certain things that aren’t in play that won’t happen until later in the calendar year. We’re taking it day-to-day and working through the things that are on the table.”

Roberts made the final decision to hire Belichick and supported the coach through a tumultuous first season. He returned to the Lombardi investigation unprompted at the end of his press availability Thursday.

“I’m disappointed that we’re talking about this,” he said. “We should be focusing on our student-athletes and their success on the field and on all of the wonderful things that happen at this university every day, providing opportunities for students from every nook and cranny of North Carolina, and so it’s distressing to me and everyone else in the administration entrusted with leadership at this remarkable university that this is something that we have to spend time on.”

Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots. He signed a five-year contract worth $50 million — the first three years and $30 million are guaranteed — to replace Mack Brown and elevate the profile and prominence of the Tar Heels’ football program.

Lombardi said the program would operate as the “33rd team,” a reference to the NFL.

The Tar Heels went 4-8 in Belichick’s first season and had one of the worst offenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Belichick brought in veteran coach Bobby Petrino to be offensive coordinator and overturned the quarterback room. Belichick and Lombardi signed 40 freshmen to serve as the core of the program’s rebuild.

North Carolina had just one player on the three All-ACC postseason teams last year  – second-team defensive end Melkart Abou Jaoude, a transfer from Delaware who committed after Belichick’s hire. No UNC player was selected in the NFL Draft. 

Expectations are lower this season.

UNC was picked to finish 15th in the 17-team ACC in the preseason media poll. The Tar Heels play seven of the top 10 teams in the poll, plus challenging nonconference games against TCU (in Ireland) and at home against Notre Dame. No UNC player was named to the preseason All-ACC team announced this week.

But Belichick is confident that this year’s squad — which has been together since January after the NCAA eliminated its post-spring practice transfer window — can begin camp in a much better spot than last year. Belichick said last year’s roster turnover after spring practice left his team unable to coordinate player-run practices throughout the summer.

“We’re so far ahead of where we were last year when we kind of started all over in training camp,” Belichick said at the ACC Kickoff in July. “This year we’ve got a much better base to build off of.”

UNC returns its top two rushers from last season in running backs Demon June (470 yards) and Benjamin Hall (294 yards) as well as its top receiver in Jordan Shipp (671 yards). Abou Jaoude led the ACC with 10.5 sacks last season and is back, too.

But there are big question marks around the roster, no bigger than at quarterback. 2025 starter Gio Lopez (Wake Forest), backup Max Johnson (Georgia Southern) and touted recruit Bryce Baker (Virginia Tech) transferred from the program. 

The Tar Heels added transfers Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland) and Miles O’Neill (Texas A&M) as well as freshman Travis Burgess. Au’Tori Newkirk, the team’s No. 3 quarterback last season, returned. Edwards and Burgess missed most of last season due to injuries.

“We have a lot of good competition on the team, a number of young players,” Belichick said previously. “We’ll see how quickly they come along or don’t. Well see how that goes. Expectations are to have good days and stack them together.”