Bill Belichick ‘Never’ Considered Taking Buyout From UNC: ‘It’s All Sensational Drama,’ Source Says (Exclusive)

Bill Belichick was allegedly “never” considering leaving the University of North Carolina amid the school’s disappointing start to the 2025 football season, and was “surprised” when he read reports that indicated UNC had discussed buyout options earlier this week, a source tells PEOPLE.

“Bill was never looking into buyouts for UNC,” a source close to Belichick says. “It’s all sensational drama.”

The source adds: “He was just as surprised as everyone when those reports came out.”

Belichick, 73, is in the midst of his first season with the Tar Heels as head football coach after taking the college job following 24 seasons as head coach of the New England Patriots.

The former Patriots coach promoted North Carolina as “the 33rd” NFL franchise while attempting to recruit players to the school this past offseason. However, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach has struggled out the gate in his first year with the school. 

Belichick’s team is currently 2-3 with three blowout losses to TCU, UCF and Clemson, as turmoil off the field has reportedly grown within the program.

After the team’s latest 38-10 loss at home to Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 4, Andrew Jones of 247Sports reported that UNC officials were having “preliminary discussions” behind closed doors about buying out Belichick’s contract just five games into his first season as a college coach.

The coach and North Carolina denied the report, releasing a joint statement pledging that they’re both “fully committed” to Belichick remaining the school’s football coach. 

Meanwhile, NBC affiliate WRAL-TV also reported this week that parents and other anonymous sources connected to the team described UNC’s football program as “an unstructured mess,” claiming there’s an unfriendly, “toxic environment” under Belichick’s supervision in which some coaches allegedly barely talk to players and athletes don’t have their coaches’ phone numbers. 

Soon after the report, assistant coach Armond Hawkins was suspended for giving certain players’ family members sideline passes to the team’s games, which is against NCAA rules.

The news follows a summer of increased scrutiny for the NFL coach, whose romantic relationship with Jordon Hudson, a 24-year-old former cheerleader, raised eyebrows and concerned some of those closest to him.

In particular, Belichick’s former players and friends publicly raised concerns over his relationship with Hudson after she became more involved with Belichick and North Carolina’s football program, announcing she would begin acting as Belichick’s publicist and then going viral for her appearance in a CBS Sunday Morning interview during which interviewer Tony Dokoupil asked how she and Belichick met.

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In recent weeks, Belichick also became the subject of a lawsuit from a former North Carolina school official who alleged the coach was illegally hired.

A docuseries being filmed about Belichick’s rocky first season with UNC has been put on hold after a source told PEOPLE that Hulu allegedly backed out of the project. 

PEOPLE also reported this week that Belichick and the school are still shopping the series around to other platforms, as a source close to the project said Hulu’s original ambition with the series “wasn’t in alignment” with the university’s vision for the series, claiming Hulu wanted the documentary to focus too much on Belichick and his relationship with Hudson.