Bill Belichick confidant speaks out on NFL coaching rumors

Bill Belichick is onto Chapel Hill and UNC is where he intends to stay.

That’s according to Michael Lombardi, the newly minted general manager of Belichick’s Tar Heels football program, who told Pat McAfee on Thursday the chatter swirling around a potential NFL U-turn for the legendary coach is not true.

“Bill Belichick committed North Carolina. He committed it to me, he committed it to the university, there’s been no conversation about anything, and we drive, from this office here, as this football field behind me, to where we’re staying. We commute each day together and we both talk about how messed up the NFL is and how thankful we’re in college football,” Lombardi said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

"Bill Belichick is completely committed to North Carolina..

That story about him going to the NFL was a complete falsehood and that story had no legs"@mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/XRA3pzw5FY — Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 9, 2025

5 Bill Belichick was announced as head coach of UNC’s football team in December 2024. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Belichick, who leaped to the college ranks in December after nearly five decades in the league, has been at the center of NFL coaching buzz following the conclusion of the regular season Sunday.

On Wednesday, one day after the Raiders parted ways with Antonio Pierce following his first full season as the team’s head coach, NFL.com reported Tom Brady — now a minority owner of the Las Vegas franchise — had spoken “recently” with Belichick “about what it would take to make a reunion happen.”

Belichick, 72, and Brady, 47, won six Super Bowls across 20 seasons in New England.

5 Michael Lombardi, the general manager of UNC’s football team, said in January 2025 that Bill Belichick is committed to the Tar Heels amid NFL chatter. The Pat McAfee Show/X

The future Hall of Fame quarterback left the franchise after the 2019 season and won one more Super Bowl in 2021 with Tampa Bay, where he concluded his career in early 2023.

A year later in 2024, Belichick parted ways with the Patriots following 24 seasons as head coach.

Lombardi, who told McAfee Thursday that he and Belichick are “completely committed” to North Carolina, dubbed the Raiders report a “complete falsehood.”

5 Bill Belichick coached the Patriots for 24 seasons before his departure in January 2024. AP

5 Belichick’s former quarterback, Tom Brady, is a minority owner of the Raiders. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

“Coach Belichick, when that story came out, was recruiting in South Jersey. Today he was at Bergen Catholic, one of the teams we watched play at Ocean City. He’s gone to The Hun School to recruit kids in Princeton,” Lombardi said.

“I mean that story just had no legs. I think what often happens in rumoring, and I know this from doing it in the league, is people try to make a connection. A to B equals C. Well, that’s not always the case. Yes, Tom Brady is being involved with interviews. Yes, Tom Brady is doing research on head coaching candidates. Yes, Tom Brady is calling people up for advice and counsel because that’s why he’s so great at what he does cause he’s listening for advice. But don’t assume that that’s because he’s doing that he wants Bill Belichick.”

Lombardi served as general manager and vice president of the Browns in 2013 after working as personnel for teams such as the 49ers, Raiders and Eagles.

5 Bill Belichick was introduced as the Tar Heels’ head coach in December 2024. AP

Lombardi was named an assistant to the Patriots’ coaching staff in 2014 when Belichick was still at the helm.

The length of Belichick’s collegiate tenure has been widely speculated ever since he took the UNC job in December.

Belichick’s deal with UNC has a $10 million buyout should he leave before June 1.

It drops to $1 million afterward.

Raiders brass are going to have its hands full this offseason.

In addition to needing to secure a new head coach, the team announced Thursday it had fired general manager Tom Telesco after one season.

The Raiders are one of the six coaching vacancies this cycle, which includes the Bears, Jets, Jaguars, Saints and Patriots.

The Jets and Titans are also on the hunt for new GMs.

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