Bill Belichick dismisses reports of buyout, affirms commitment to UNC football

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- University of North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick started his news conference Monday by refuting reports that he was seeking a buyout amidst the team's early-season struggles.

"Right off the bat, some of the reports out last week about my looking for a buyout and trying to leave here is categorically false. There's zero truth to any of that," said Belichick.

Last week, Belichick and Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham released statements affirming his commitment to the university.

"There was a lot of things, some things that were reported that were factually totally inaccurate," said Belichick.

The news conference was attended by Cunningham, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts, UNC Athletics Director-in-waiting Steve Newmark, and General Manager Mike Lombardi, a collective presence both unusual and notable for a weekly press conference.

"Those people have all been great, and I appreciate all their help on everything. We just believe very much in the process," said Belichick.

The Tar Heels are off to a 2-3 start, with three blowout losses to Power 4 competition, each by at least four scores. Despite those results, Belichick asserts progress is being made.

"The process will eventually produce the results and produce like they have everywhere else I've been. I'm very confident that players are working hard, they're getting better, and we're going to continue to do that," said Belichick.

In each of those Power 4 games, UNC has trailed by double digits at halftime. The Tar Heels held a lead for 6 minutes and 47 seconds in the first quarter against TCU, the lone lead they've held against a Power 4 team this season. They've scored more than 20 points in a game once, in Week 3 against Richmond, an FCS program. Defensively, they've allowed at least 34 points in all three games against Power 4 competition.

"We didn't have super high expectations, but we thought we'd be a little bit more like last year. But this year, (there's) not a lot of hope. We're just not very excited about the rest of the season," said Ava Sharon, a junior who serves as sports photo editor with the Daily Tar Heel.

Their most recent game against Clemson highlighted the frustration even further.

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"The Clemson (game) was a bit eye-opening. I was covering that game. It was so uncompetitive so quickly," said senior Brian D'Aguanno, the assistant sports editor at the Daily Tar Heel. "(Clemson) put up 28 points in that first quarter. The student section was completely clearing out from my view in the press box. And when they were coming out for the second half, it looked like it was warmups or before the game was even starting,"

That represents a stark contrast from the buzz and excitement surrounding Belichick's introductory news conference in December, or even last month's nationally-televised season opener against TCU.

After investing heavily in the transfer portal, bringing in 70 new players, Belichick discussed a roster-building strategy more in line with a long-term vision rather than a quick turnaround.

"We really want to build our team through high school recruits, kids that come here and spend their whole career here. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of those players on our team right now, and there's only about a small handful of them who have been recruited here, who are starters, who are significant play-time players. So our foundation isn't as good as we want it to be," said Belichick.

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He also downplayed reports of locker room dysfunction, as players publicly backed the coaching staff's efforts.

"I don't know what kind of perspective some of those people have that are saying that," Belichick said.

"You see the dedication, you see the hard work. You see what (the coaches are) doing day in, day out, it's pretty incredible. There's tremendous buy-on from all the guys," said redshirt senior offensive lineman Christo Kelly.

UNC's next game is Friday night at Cal. Kickoff is at 10:30 p.m. and the game is televised on ESPN.