North Carolina chancellor Lee Roberts and athletics director Steve Newmark made their first comments this week coming out of a finalized internal investigation into the Tar Heels' football program, leading to the resignations of general manager Michael Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick.
Roberts and Newmark voiced their support for Bill Belichick, under the conditions the Tar Heels' second-year coach runs a tight ship moving forward.
"Coach Belichick continues to have our support, the support of the administration and of the board [of trustees]," Roberts said after a UNC Board of Trustees meeting Thursday. "He understands that that support comes with expectations around conduct and behavior. Nobody understands that better than coach Belichick."
According to WRAL, more than 60 interviews were completed during the independent investigation. According to Newmark, the voluntary investigation was specifically done to ensure issues were not program-wide and Roberts said the university's deep care about the conduct standards of its football program needed to be addressed.
"We're continuing to put in place policies and training and monitoring to make sure that the standards we expect of the football program are being adhered to," Roberts said.
Earlier this season prior to UNC's win over East Tennessee State, Belichick was asked whether the Tar Heels maintained an atmosphere of compliance within their football program. He answered succinctly, "yeah, totally" before moving on to football-only questions.
While the investigation was still active, Belichick said that he understood "the importance of the work that's being done by the investigative team and, obviously, our high standard here of our code of conduct and doing things the right way and making sure that our student-athletes are given the utmost, the best treatment, the very best care, and the very best coaching that we can possibly give them. So that's critically important to us."
Multiple resignations behind the Tar Heels
Steve Belichick, who had been on medical leave since Aug. 6, resigned from his position last week effective Oct. 27 following the conclusion of the investigation into the culture and climate of UNC's football program. WRAL previously reported that outside lawyers questioned individuals about alleged drug-related conduct involving Belichick and his interactions with players.
Lombardi's resignation came on Sept. 3 following four weeks on administrative leave. Earlier this month, Bill Belichick said he had spoken to Lombardi and his son, but declined specifics on the conversations.
Belichick's in the second season of a five-year, $50 million contract, an agreement that mandates the veteran coach "promote an atmosphere of compliance" and maintain institutional control of the program, which means following rules and compliance set by the university, NCAA and the ACC.
Newmark said Thursday that Bill Belichick is "in complete alignment" after findings within the investigation and the university continues to believe in his vision.
"We believe that he can be successful with our football program on and off the field," Newmark said. "At the same time, and as with all our coaches, there are expectations about culture and conduct for each of our programs, and Coach Belichick understands that. He and I have been working on how we can strengthen our oversight, our compliance, our reporting and our accountability in order to meet the standards of the university.
"I think we're aligned in those efforts. We just need to continue to take more steps to ensure that we enforce and instill that into the football program."
Notre Dame looms
The Tar Heels are off this weekend prior to their Oct. 3 showdown with the Fighting Irish. UNC is coming off a road loss at Clemson in the ACC opener for both teams, a matchup the Tar Heels led throughout before the Tigers stormed back following a lightning delay in the fourth quarter.
The Tar Heels led 17-15 at the start of the 2.5-hour delay inside the red zone, but failed to punch it in for a touchdown and settled for a field goal. UNC's lead stayed at one possession and the Tigers took the lead for good on their ensuing drive.
"Give Clemson credit — they made the plays at the end of the game they needed to make to win," Belichick said.
