North Carolina’s football program took another hit on Sunday when the school announced that general manager Michael Lombardi has been placed on paid administrative leave.
UNC did not give a reason for the move, and the school said it would not release any details under standard university policy. For now, the why remains unknown. The fact that it happened at all is the story.
Lombardi has been Bill Belichick’s right-hand man in Chapel Hill, and he was also the highest paid GM in college football. North Carolina was paying him an annual salary of $1.5 million, hoping he and Belichick would form the kind of pairing that could push the Tar Heels into serious contention.
Instead, the program keeps piling up bad headlines.
Belichick’s first season at UNC ended 4-8, and the outlook for year two is not much brighter. There are still major questions across the roster, including at quarterback, and the off-field noise has not let up. The school has spent much of Belichick’s tenure dealing with unwanted attention, including the issues surrounding his 25-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
Now this.
The move adds another ugly chapter to a tenure that has not come close to matching the hype. What was supposed to be a bold swing has turned into a mess, and the hits just keep coming for Carolina football.
There had already been whispers late last season that Belichick’s future at UNC was being discussed. A turnaround on the field could still change the conversation, but that kind of cover has not arrived yet, and there is little reason to think it is right around the corner.
For Duke fans, the timing is almost too perfect. Manny Diaz has Duke moving in the right direction, and the Blue Devils just won their first outright ACC Championship since 1962. While one program keeps finding ways to stumble, the other is climbing.
That contrast only makes the situation in Chapel Hill look worse. UNC came into this with big expectations and a big checkbook. What it has gotten so far is embarrassment after embarrassment.
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