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(L-R) Michael Lombardi and Bill Belichick at a 2025 UNC Football game
Credit: Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- UNC GM Michael Lombardi has been put on administrative leave
- Lombardi, 67, is a longtime friend of head coach Bill Belichick
- Belichickm 74, begins his second season at the helm next month
University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi has been put on paid administrative leave, the university said in a statement.
Lombardi, 67, is a former NFL executive and longtime friend of head coach Bill Belichick. He arrived at the school alongside the former New England Patriots coach in 2024.
UNC did not disclose additional information regarding Lombardi’s leave, but the decision reportedly comes after a human resources complaint was filed, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. An investigation is pending into the matter.
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Michael Lombardi at a 2025 UNC Football game
Credit: Bryan Bennett/Getty
“As is standard procedure with personnel matters, leadership, staff, and student-athletes are prohibited from addressing this topic further, and has no reflection on the merits,” the school said in a statement.
Lombardi worked with Belichick, 74, in Foxborough from 2014 to 2016 and when the coach was with the Cleveland Browns beginning in 1987.
The GM raised eyebrows last year as the team endured a frustrating 4-8 campaign in Belichick’s first year.
In September 2025, Lombardi told Patriots scouts that they would not be welcome at Tar Heels’ practices, per ESPN. Months earlier, Lombardi shed insight into the high expectations he had for the program.
“Everything we do here is predicated on building a pro team,” Lombardi told The Associated Press in February. “We consider ourselves the 33rd [NFL] team because everybody who’s involved with our program has had some form or aspect in pro football.”
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The Tar Heels will once again open the season against TCU. This time, the two teams will meet on Saturday, Aug. 29 in Dublin, Ireland.
Last year, the Horned Frogs upended the team, 48-14, at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill.
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