Bill Belichick Responds to Rumors That He’s Leaving $50 Million UNC Football Job

Bill Belichick is breaking his silence about the recent reports he’s looking to leave North Carolina.

Belichick, 73, shot down last week’s reports as “categorically false” in his first public comments since they were first published by Andrew Jones of 247Sports, who reported that UNC officials were having “preliminary discussions” about buying out Belichick’s contract. 

“Some of the reports out last week about my looking for a buyout and trying to leave here and all that is categorically false,” Belichick said Monday during his first press conference since North Carolina’s 38-10 loss to Clemson at home on Saturday, Oct. 4. “Glad I’m here. Working toward our goals and the process.”

Last week, a source close to the six-time Super Bowl champion coach told PEOPLE he “was never looking into” a possible buyout and that he was “as surprised as everyone” when he first read the reports.

“It’s all sensational drama,” the source told PEOPLE about the reports, which comes five games into Belichick’s tenure as the Tar Heels’ head football coach.

The loss to Clemson was North Carolina’s third blowout loss of the season, following a 48-14 loss to TCU in the season opener on Sept. 1 and a 34-9 loss to UCF on Sept. 20.

“Obviously we’re all a little frustrated with the results, but the only thing we can do is continue to work and improve,” Belichick said Monday. “We’ve made a lot of progress. Right now, unfortunately, the scoreboard doesn’t reflect that, but I’m confident that it will.”

While the offseason was dominated by headlines surrounding Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old former cheerleader Jordon Hudson and her shadow over the coach, his first season with the team has been marred by disappointing play and reports of a dysfunctional locker room under his watch.

In recent weeks, Belichick has found himself at the center of plenty of drama – and not just with his former team.

Local NBC affiliate WRAL-TV reported last week that parents and other anonymous sources connected to the team described UNC’s football program as “an unstructured mess” created by an alleged “toxic environment” from coaches. Days later, assistant coach Armond Hawkins was suspended for violating NCAA rules.

Belichick was also recently named as the subject of a lawsuit filed by a former North Carolina school official who alleged the coach was illegally hired, while a docuseries being filmed about Belichick’s tumultuous first season as a college football coach was put on hold after a source told PEOPLE that Hulu allegedly backed out of the project. 

“It’s a learning curve,” Belichick said Monday about his first season with UNC after vowing it wouldn’t be cut short. “We’re all in it together, but we’re making a lot of progress.”