Schefter Reports Bill Belichick, UNC ‘Don’t Believe’ Rumors ‘Floating Around’

Amid a disastrous start to the season and rampant speculation about his future, Bill Belichick and North Carolina reportedly aren’t paying attention to the outside noise.

On Thursday’s episode of Get Up, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Belichick and UNC officials “don’t believe” the rumors “floating around” right now.

“There’s a lot of chatter out there right now, and I’ve been told that they don’t believe that, what’s floating around out there,” said Schefter.

Andrew Jones of 247Sports reported on Wednesday that North Carolina officials held “preliminary conversations” about “potential exit strategy discussions” to move on from Belichick and do so in a way that either limits or avoids altogether paying the buyout in his contract.

Even though Jones also suggested it’s not a “lock” that Belichick is still the head coach when the Tar Heels return from a bye for their Oct. 17 game against Cal, Pete Nakos of On3.com called it “unlikely” to the school will make a change during the season.

However, Nakos did call the situation “fluid” and pointed out there could start to be changes made Belichick’s staff. Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, in particular, is said to be facing the “most heat” right now with the Tar Heels ranked 119th out of 136 FBS teams in points per game.

Cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins was reportedly suspended this week due to an alleged violation of NCAA rules regarding extra benefits. The alleged violation involves providing a player’s family member sideline passes for a game.

Per Ollie Connelly of The Guardian, Belichick has held buyout discussions with school officials, with the legendary coach indicating “a willingness” to trigger his $1 million buyout if he is able to “find a soft landing with another team or in media.”

Amid those reports, both Belichick and North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham issued statements on Wednesday night affirming their commitment to each other.

When Belichick signed his five-year, $50 million contract to become North Carolina’s head coach in December, the structure seemed very unusual. His initial buyout was $10 million if he chose to leave before dropping to $1 million on June 1, three months before the Tar Heels’ first game of the season.

It was also notable that only the first three years of the contract were fully guaranteed. The assumption was Belichick negotiated terms that would make it easier for him to return to the NFL if an opportunity presented itself.

Five games into his debut season at North Carolina, though, none of the magic Belichick had throughout his NFL career has shown up in college. The Tar Heels are 2-3 with each of their three losses coming by at least 25 points.

North Carolina is coming off a 38-10 loss against Clemson on Oct. 4. The Tigers, who lost three of their first four games, were up 28-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Belichick has yet to beat a Power Four program. His two wins thus far are against Charlotte from the American Conference and FCS program Richmond.

The Tar Heels will get a week to reset before traveling out west to take on Cal at California Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET.