There are college football programs that enter preseason in good shape and there are college football programs that enter preseason with the general manager on administrative leave pending an investigation before the first practice, and Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels are the second kind, which is the situation that requires the words “greatest NFL coach of all time” and “university HR investigation” to appear in the same sentence.
Belichick, 74, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and whose defensive schemes are taught in coaching clinics worldwide, joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last year as head football coach in a move that prompted significant national coverage about whether a 73-year-old NFL legend could adapt to the college game. His first season produced results that were described charitably as a building year. His second season, which has not yet begun because practice starts this week, has produced Michael Lombardi being placed on paid administrative leave by the university “amid an investigation,” per Fox News OutKick’s confirmed reporting published at 10:44 a.m. EDT today.
Lombardi, who served as a general manager in the NFL and worked extensively with Belichick during their Patriots years, joined the UNC program as its general manager, a role designed to apply NFL-style front office management to a college football operation. College football has been adopting NFL structural models since the transfer portal and NIL era accelerated the professionalization of the sport. Lombardi’s placement on leave is the specific event that tests whether the NFL management structure translates to a university campus, where HR investigations are conducted by university human resources departments rather than the commissioner’s office.
The nature of the investigation has not been disclosed. The university confirmed the leave. Belichick has not commented. Practice starts this week. The investigation is ongoing. Last year’s record is not being discussed because this year’s investigation is being discussed instead.
UNC has not had a winning season since Mack Brown left in 2019. Belichick has won more Super Bowls than every UNC coach in history combined. The GM is on leave before Week 1.
When the greatest NFL coach of all time has his college GM placed on leave before the first practice of Year 2, what exactly did the NFL model prepare him for?
Sources
Fox News OutKick: Crisis for Bill Belichick — UNC places GM Michael Lombardi on administrative leave
