North Carolina head football coach Bill Belichick on Monday addressed the ongoing internal investigation within his program, which has led to the resignation of General Manager Michael Lombardi and the medical leave of his son, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick. Belichick stated his primary focus is preparing the team for their upcoming game against East Tennessee State.
"My focus is on getting the team ready to play [East Tennessee State]," Belichick said during a press conference. "I’m not involved in any other part of the process. My job is to get the team ready to play this weekend and that’s what we’re going to do."
The university's investigation stems from a complaint filed by a former front office employee. Lombardi, who was Belichick's initial hire for the Tar Heels, resigned on September 3, following a period of administrative leave beginning July 27. Both Lombardi and Steve Belichick have reportedly been questioned by lawyers regarding drug-related issues and their involvement with players.
Steve Belichick has been on an indefinite medical leave since early August. When asked about his program's compliance, Bill Belichick responded, "Yeah, totally."
He confirmed speaking with Lombardi after his resignation but declined to share details of their conversations. "In the end, we want to run the program in the very best way, and if there’s things we need to do to correct it, we’ll obviously do them," Belichick stated.
According to reports, lawyers involved in the investigation are also examining allegations of a sexual relationship between a female recruiting staff member and at least one player, as well as relationships between assistant coaches and recruiting staff. The investigation is seeking documents and text message records to understand the program's culture under Belichick and Lombardi.
"The importance of the work that’s being done by the investigative team and, obviously, our high standard here of our code of conduct and doing things the right way and making sure that our student-athletes are given the utmost, the best treatment, the very best care, and the very best coaching that we can possibly give them. So that’s critically important to us," Belichick said.
The Tar Heels began their second season under Belichick with a 15-10 victory over TCU on August 29. Their next game is scheduled for Saturday at home against ETSU.