UNC DC Steve Belichick resigns, probe into conduct in football program concludes

CHAPEL HILL - Investigators looking into conduct within Bill Belichick's North Carolina football program examined a range of allegations tied to potential drug use, inappropriate relationships and NCAA rule violations.

They talked to the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach among a lengthy list of interviewees.

"Our scope was broad, so we looked into a lot of stuff," lead investigator Nate Huff said Thursday.

And when the probe concluded, Belichick's son had joined a longtime confidant of his father's in resigning from the program.

The school released a statement Thursday morning saying Steve Belichick's resignation as defensive coordinator would be effective in late October at the conclusion of a medical leave, which was announced early in preseason camp. That made him the second high-profile resignation amid the probe, the other being general manager Michael Lombardi earlier this month.

According to UNC's statement, the school's investigation "determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina's values and standards of conduct." The school didn't reveal specifics of those actions found by the review, nor had it discussed details of the investigation launched in late July.

"The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure," the school said in a statement that also announced a player suspension following a Tuesday traffic stop.

In an interview later Thursday with The Associated Press, The Assembly and WRAL of Raleigh, Huff along with UNC general counsel Paul Newton wouldn't discuss detailed findings or conduct by specific individuals. But Huff - an attorney and former federal prosecutor - confirmed his team looked into allegations tied to drugs, relationships and NCAA issues.

"This was not a circumstance where we were targeting any individual person or any specific people," Huff said. "We were looking program-wide - football program-wide."

More than 60 interviews were conducted, including of Bill Belichick

Newton said the probe launched "based on the concerns raised by a limited number of former employees."

"We took those concerns seriously," he said.

That led the Office of University Counsel to hire Huff as independent counsel to run the investigation, which included more than 60 interviews.

"At no point did I feel like the university counsel's office or university leadership or athletics leadership was limiting or steering me," Huff said. "I felt they were the people to whom I would go to to get the access I needed to get to the bottom of all this. And that was my experience.

"So my team and I were able to immerse ourselves in Carolina football and its compliance and its culture, and in these allegations."

Huff said investigators told interviewees that "just because we're asking about something doesn't mean we think that it happened or that it's real. It just means it's part of our job."

Interviewees included the 74-year-old Bill Belichick, who won those six Super Bowl titles before making his NFL-to-college transition in December 2024 with Lombardi as an immediate hire. The probe ran throughout preseason camp, then continued as the Tar Heels beat TCUand East Tennessee State to start Belichick's second season.

"He made his whole staff and himself available to me during football season," Huff said. "And these coaches that I talked to, people that I talked to in that building, the only thing they were asking me was, 'When do you need me?' and 'Where do you need me to be?'

"So I was able to investigate football in the middle of football season fully. And I had access to people, even people like coach Bill Belichick."