As legendary coach Bill Belichick heads into his second season in charge of the North Carolina Tar Heels, the program has been beset by off-field issues, including general manager Michael Lombardi being placed on paid administrative leave in July.
Belichick and Lombardi have a long-running relationship dating back to their days in the NFL.
Analyst Blames Polarizing GM for Bill Belichick’s UNC Woes
During an appearance on the “Pablo Tore Finds Out” podcast, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman blasted Lombardi’s performance as the Tar Heels’ general manager and accused him of sabotaging Belichick’s legacy.
“Arrogance plus incompetence, a devastating combination to Bill Belichick’s legacy… That’s the NFL, he’s the greatest coach, he has all the Super Bowl rings, this is a different animal in college football right,” Feldman said.
“It almost feels like, as I’ve watched this play out and talked to people around there, Lombardi is sabotaging this. How could we screw this up worse? The guy who Bill Belichick took over for at UNC, Mack Brown, really good coach. Maybe stayed a little too long, but he won a national title at Texas, they fired him after seven years, they were never this bad.
“They’re the laughing stock of college football right now. What Lombardi really cuts at is the roster and what you put on the field and why that’s so critical. The arrogant piece is coming in thinking he knew better than all these people who’ve worked in college football for a long time.”
“It almost feels like as I’ve watched this play out… like Lombardi is sabotaging this.”
—@BruceFeldmanCFB and @PabloTorre on how Bill Belichick’s North Carolina has become the “laughingstock of college football” pic.twitter.com/SXTbFhD9jp
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) August 11, 2026
Lombardi reportedly convinced North Carolina Board of Trustees chairman John Preyer of Belichick’s interest in the job after the Tar Heels fired Brown in 2024. He was the former Patriots coach’s first major hire and was present at his introductory news conference.
Belichick and Lombardi first crossed paths when the former was head coach of the Cleveland Browns between 1991 and 1995. Lombardi served as the Browns’ pro personnel director and the director of player personnel before Belichick took the Patriots job in 1996.
The pair reunited in New England when Lombardi was appointed to the Patriots’ coaching staff between 2014 and 2016. They won Super Bowl XLIX together in the process.
Lombardi is reportedly the highest-paid general manager in college football ($1.5 million) and Feldman further blasted Belichick’s right-hand man for being incompetent at his job despite his massive salary.
“It is just staggering to me that you could have someone that is the highest-paid and literally the worst at what they do in the entire field,” Feldman said.
The Tar Heels finished Belichick’s first season at the helm with a 4-8 record and one of the most flawed rosters in college football, largely built by Lombardi via the transfer portal.
