Heel Tough Blog: "Preliminary Conversations" Have Been Had About Bill Belichick Exit Strategy

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The Bill Belichick experiment was one of the biggest spectacles in the history of college football and it may not even last a full season.

Per a report from Andrew Jones of TarHeel247, the university held “preliminary conversations” surrounding “potential exit strategy discussions” on Wednesday morning. 

Jones says that the university is trying to use possible NCAA violations from assistants, including last night’s report from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic on Armond Hawkins’ violation regarding sideline passes for Thaddeus Dixon’s family, as a way to fire Belichick with cause.

According to Jones, this is not the only violation that the program is dealing with and that “there are many other violations that have occurred, many on the recruiting front”.

The report comes on the heels of a report from Pat Welter of WRAL that broke the Hawkins violation news and gave Tar Heels fans and others a peek into a growing divide in the locker and program that had “no culture, no organization” and was a “complete disaster”.

Shortly following Jones’ report, Ollie Connolly of Read Optional and Guardian US, who initially broke the news of Belichick’s interest in the job, is reporting he 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.

All of these reports have begun surfacing after the Tar Heels third-straight blowout loss to a Power 4 opponent on Saturday when the team was bludgeoned by Clemson 38-10. In the first three games of the Belichick era, which may very well end before the team plays California next Friday following the team’s second bye week of the season.

Make sure to tune in to tonight's live edition of the Heel Tough Blog, as the guys talk about all the latest intel and reports around the Bill Belichick saga at UNC.