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‘Complete falsehood’: Michael Lombardi dismissed the Bill Belichick-NFL rumors
Lombardi said Belichick was busy recruiting for North Carolina when the story came out on Wednesday.
A day after a wild report emerged connecting newly-appointed University of North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick with a potential shock move back to the NFL ranks, one of his top confidants categorically dismissed it.
Belichick, who spent his first post-Patriots season as a media member, recently surprised the football world by taking the vacant UNC post. On Wednesday, he was then linked to the Las Vegas Raiders opening.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Tom Brady, now a minority Raiders owner, “spoke recently with his old coach about what it would take to make a reunion happen.”
The report was initially refuted by Athletic NFL insider Dianna Russini, who shared a few hours later that, “Bill Belichick has no plans to return to the NFL, per sources.”
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On Thursday, Belichick’s North Carolina general manager, Michael Lombardi, offered an official denial. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Lombardi was asked about his (and Belichick’s) commitment to North Carolina.
“Completely committed, 1,000-percent committed,” he replied.
As far as the report of Belichick potentially pondering a quick move back to the NFL to lead the Raiders, Lombardi elaborated.
“Look, guys that do the insider stuff for the NFL, they’ve got to put stories out there,” he said. “That one was a complete falsehood. Coach Belichick, when that story came out, was recruiting in south [New] Jersey, and today he was at Bergen Catholic [High School], one of the teams we watched play at Ocean City, and he’s gone to the Hun School to recruit kids from Princeton. I mean that story just had no legs.
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“I think what often happens in rumoring — and I know this from doing it in the league — is people try to make a connection. A to B equals C. Well, that’s not always the case,” Lombardi added.
Lombardi acknowledged that Brady was calling around, but claimed it was strictly related to fact-finding about more general topics related to hiring a head coach.
“Yes, Tom Brady is being involved with interviews. Yes, Tom Brady is doing research on head coaching candidates. Yes, Tom Brady is calling people up for advice and counsel because that’s why he’s so great at what he does, because he’s listening for advice,” said Lombardi. “But don’t assume that just because he’s doing that he wants Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick is committed to North Carolina. He committed it to me, he committed it to the university. There has been no conversation about anything.”
Lombardi, who has previously claimed that Belichick took the college job because of his soured view of NFL ownership, deployed one more anecdote.
“We commute each day together, and we both talk about how messed up the NFL is, and how thankful we’re in college football, because we’re shaking our heads.”
Belichick has never worked at the college level, having spent the entirety of his half-century in football as a coach at various levels of the NFL.
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Now, he’s charged with leading UNC to a higher level amid the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era. Lombardi’s presence at the school as a general manager is testament to the changing face of the college sports landscape.
He recently discussed the evolving nature of the college game, and how it has growing similarities with NFL roster building that could give him and Belichick an advantage.
“Bill Belichick is completely committed to North Carolina..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 9, 2025
That story about him going to the NFL was a complete falsehood and that story had no legs”@mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/XRA3pzw5FY
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