By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer
Of all the ugly moments so far — bad play, blowout losses, home fans fleeing early for the exits — the most telling moment of Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina came during an open week.
It took the form of a pair of terse statements from Belichick and athletic director Bubba Cunningham posted on social media late Wednesday, reaffirming the marriage between the six-time Super Bowl winner from the NFL’s New England Patriots and the school desperately seeking to elevate its football program beyond decades of also-ran status.
“I’m fully committed to UNC Football and the program we’re building here,” Belichick said.
The fact it came at all, though — following a day of speculation and reports of behind-the-scenes troubles in the program — said more about how the first few weeks of Belichick’s first college season have gone.
The messaging about building the “33rd” NFL team with a pro-style approach at a college program has given way to school leaders and the Tar Heels’ general manager pleading for patience from fans and donors jarred by the team’s lack of competitiveness. And now the school is looking into potential NCAA rules violations involving an assistant coach.
It all comes amid elevated financial investments into the program, none more significant than spending at least $10 million annually to hire the 73-year-old Belichick as a first-time college coach.
“It’s not the kind of thing we judge after four games or even after one season,” Chancellor Lee Roberts told reporters after a meeting of university trustees two weeks ago. “These things take time.”
On the field
The Tar Heels (2-3) have managed a total of four touchdowns in three losses to power-conference opponents, each coming by at least 25 points. One of their two wins came against a Championship Subdivision opponent in Richmond.
In games against fellow Bowl Subdivision opponents, UNC ranks last among all 67 power-conference teams in scoring offense (13.3), total offense (253.0) and third-down conversion rate (26.5%). They also rank amid the bottom dozen in scoring defense (30.8), total defense (416.8) and third-down conversion defense (43.4%), according to SportRadar.
UNC opened Belichick’s tenure on Labor Day with a national TV spotlight, only to see TCU roll to a 48-14 win that had UNC fans largely gone from Kenan Stadium by the end of the third quarter.
Last week, it happened again, this time by halftime, as Clemson took a 28-3 lead in the first quarter in a game that ended in a largely empty Kenan Stadium.
“We’re just going to keep working every day and every week,” Belichick said afterward. “And let the guys get better. And the guys that get better will keep playing. And the guys that don’t, maybe there’s other people that can compete and move ahead of them for playing time. But we’re just going to keep grinding. I’m not going to evaluate where things are or aren’t. Just take it week by week.”
The Tar Heels next visit California on Oct. 17 in their first cross-country league trip since the Atlantic Coast Conference’s expansion last year.
Off the field
The school is also dealing with issues away from the games themselves.
A person with knowledge of the situation said cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins has been suspended while the school looks into potential violations tied to improper benefits for players. A timetable for that suspension is unclear. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because UNC hasn’t publicly discussed the suspension, first reported by The Athletic.
Additionally, a planned TV show from streaming provider Hulu on Belichick’s first UNC team is no longer in development, the person told the AP. The program had posted social media video in August of Belichick telling the players that the Tar Heels would be featured in what he described as a season-long show to “showcase” the program.
The future
General manager Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive, recently sent a letter to donors encouraging them to remain patient. He outlined a plan that included signing “upwards of 40” high school players in next year’s class to restock the program, indicating the need for a longer-term building effort.
“First and foremost, this letter isn’t an excuse or to shed blame on the past regimes,” Lombardi wrote in the letter, first reported by Football Scoop and later reviewed by the AP. “It’s meant to explain our team building blueprint moving forward, now that we have surveyed the inherited land.”
Changing course would be expensive, too.
Belichick is in the first year of a deal that guarantees $10 million in base and supplemental pay for each of the next seasons. Lombardi is making $1.5 million for each of the next two seasons. And most of the staff — which includes Belichick’s sons Steve and Brian, as well as Lombardi’s son Matt — holds two-year deals.
It would cost more than $30 million to buy out those staff contracts if UNC opted to make a coaching change.