Bill Belichick dismisses reports of buyout talk with UNC as ‘categorically false’

"Glad I’m here. We’re working towards our goals and the process."

Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels will take on Cal on Friday. AP Photo/Chris Seward

October 13, 2025

3 minutes to read

A large portion of Monday’s press conference between Bill Belichick and the press at Chapel Hill had little to do with the University of North Carolina’s upcoming football game against Cal on Friday night.

Instead, the former Patriots head coach continued to try to put out fires amid several reports that he’s discussing buyout options at UNC amid a disastrous first season in the college ranks.

“Some of the reports out last week about my looking for a buyout and trying to leave here and all that, it’s just categorically false. There’s zero truth to any of that,” Belichick said Monday. “Glad I’m here. We’re working towards our goals and the process. I‘ve had great support from Chancellor (Lee) Roberts, Bubba, Steve (Newmark) and so forth, Mike Lombardi. Those people have all been great and I appreciate all their help on everything.

“We just believe very much in the process. Like (49ers Hall of Famer) Bill Walsh said, ‘The score will take care of itself.’ I’ve always believed that. You’ve just gotta keep working and grinding away and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Belichick’s first foray in the college ranks has been a disastrous endeavor for all parties at UNC.

Beyond several blowout losses to Power-Four opponents this fall, Belichick’s tenure at Chapel Hill has been undercut with several reports painting the picture of a dysfunctional program ill-equipped to handle with today’s collegiate environment.

Last week, Ollie Connolly of The Guardian posted on X that Belichick “has discussed buyout options with North Carolina’s hierarchy.” Connolly added that Belichick has presented “a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout if he can find a soft landing with another team or in [the] media.”

Per Connolly, “some [UNC] staffers believe a change will come within two weeks,” with members of Belichick’s coaching personnel already speaking to other college football programs about opportunities for later this postseason.

The same day that Connolly’s reports started making the rounds on social media, 247Sports.com’s Andrew Jones noted that “potential exit strategy discussions” were already underway regarding Belichick’s future — with the university looking to “eliminate or minimize Belichick’s buyout” after the university signed him to a five-year, $50 million contract in December 2024.

Those reports about UNC exploring a potential split from Belichick also followed a feature from WRAL — a local TV station in Raleigh — that described UNC’s locker room as “divided,” due in large part to a “disorganized” coaching staff.

“It’s an unstructured mess,” an unnamed source with first-hand knowledge of the program told WRAL. “There’s no culture, no organization. It’s a complete disaster.”

Given all the flak directed toward Belichick, both he and UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham released brief statements last week that attempted to diffuse some of the discourse regarding the future Hall-of-Fame head coach.

Belichick noted on Monday that the dual statements were posted “just for clarification.”

“There were a lot of things — some things that were reported that were just factually totally inaccurate,“ Belichick said. ”Just wanted to make sure we cleared those up.”

Beyond UNC’s 2-3 record, the Tar Heels have struggled to showcase much of anything against other established programs — dropping games to TCU, UCF, and Clemson by a combined score of 120-33 already this year.

On Monday, Belichick preached patience as he tries get the Tar Heels back on track against the Golden Bears.

“It didn’t always happen the first year,” Belichick said. “In fact, it didn’t happen in any of the first years. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to continue to build and establish our culture and establish our work ethic and our commitment to improvement and our commitment to winning.”