A new report suggests that North Carolina was given early evidence that could help them fire Bill Belichick without paying his $20 million buyout.
Belichick has had a bumpy ride in year one as the head coach of the Tar Heels football program. Heading into Week 7 of the college football season, UNC owns a 2-3 record and has been blown out by any team with a pulse that they have played. Such a start isn’t a firable offense. However, the legendary NFL coach has brought drama off the field in his first season with the program.
His ongoing relationship with his 50 years younger gal pal Jordon Hudson has been the source of headlines for all the wrong reasons for months. Plus, his ongoing beef with his former employer, the New England Patriots, and the pettiness he has shown toward them in recent weeks has put an even more negative light on the program.
- Bill Belichick record (Patriots): 266-121
Growing dysfunction at North Carolina football?
Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill has been a disaster thus far, and it has surely given administrators headaches for the last six months. Furthermore, some new evidence emerged this week of the school’s growing frustrations with the coach, when it was reported that they have scrapped plans for a Hulu documentary on his first season at North Carolina.
Earlier this week, a new exposé added new details on the growing dysfunction inside the program’s offices as players and their families grow frustrated with the six-time Super Bowl winner. In that report, it was revealed that UNC cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins was suspended after it was found he violated NCAA rules by giving extra benefits to the families of athletes in the form of on-field passes.
Has UNC found a way out of Bill Belichick’s buyout?
Following that revelation, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio boldly speculated that Hawkins’ suspension could be breadcrumbs from a whole loaf of illegal practices that would help North Carolina move on from Belichick without having to pay his multi-million dollar buyout.
“It’s an allegation that lands in the general neighborhood of the kind of thing that could potentially lay the foundation for a termination of Belichick’s contract for cause — especially if the basis for the suspension wasn’t an isolated occurrence,” Florio wrote. It would be foolish to think someone at UNC hasn’t at least entertained the possibility of moving on from Belichick without owing him upwards of $20 million.”
Every big-time college football head coach has a buyout in their contract if fired. However, proof of breaking NCAA rules would allow a program to dismiss a coach without being on the hook for that buyout. It is very possible this wasn’t the first time that the coach brought in by Belichick’s son, Steve Belichick, was handing out extra benefits, and his boss knew about it.
Connecting the benefits to Belichick would be difficult. However, as Florio noted, even if they can’t prove the coach knew about the violations, the school may still be able to find a top donor willing to pay for his buyout and rid itself of the continued Belichick drama.
