Heel Tough Blog: Bill Belichick Calls Rumors of Him Looking to Leave "Categorically False"

Inside Carolina

Monday was the first time that Bill Belichick, the head coach of the Tar Heels, met with the media following a crazy week of speculation about his job status and future with the program.

In his opening comments, Belichick put to rest any reports that he had been looking to leave for another job or a soft landing in television. “I’ll just start with right off the bat, some of the reports out last week about me looking for a buyout and trying to leave here, all that is categorically false,” Belichick said. “Zero truth to any of that. Glad I’m here, we’re working towards our goals and the process”.

This announcement comes after reports on Wednesday from Andrew Jones of TarHeel247 about the “preliminary conversations” surrounding “potential exit strategy discussions” being had at the university on Wednesday morning. 

Jones also reported that the program is currently dealing with multiple NCAA violations aside from the one that got cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins suspended and that there are “many on the recruiting front”.

Later in the day, Ollie Connolly of Read Optional and Guardian US, who initially broke the news of Belichick’s interest in the job, reported that Belichick has “discussed buyout options with North Carolina’s hierarchy” and that he “has signalled a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout if he can find a soft landing with another team or in media”. According to Connolly’s report, members of the current Tar Heel staff are talking to other schools already and “the rats are leaving the ship”. Connolly also confirms that “multiple recruiting and practice violations have already been proven by the schools” and that investigations continue into other violations.

WRAL’s Pat Welter, who released a story last Monday night, reported on Thursday afternoon that those conversations were “false”, as were those that said the university was talking about an exit strategy.

This is exactly what you should have expected from the university and Belichick after what happened last week. Anyone still questioning whether or not these talks actually happened are kidding themselves at this point and are holding onto hope that this thing can turn in the right direction. My belief is that they got to this point because they couldn’t agree on a solution to the massive buyout that Belichick has and that these rumblings and reports will only continue as the season goes along. Right now, they are just trying to do damage control and hoping that things take a turn, something that seems highly unlikely with the schedule that remains.