Bill Belichick reportedly willing to accept buyout if another coaching or media opportunity exists

If recent reports are to be believed, the wheels are coming off of Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels football program in a hurry.

Following an offseason full of hype, PR disasters, and Jordon Hudson-themed drama, the thought was that it would all be worth it when Belichick turns the Tar Heels into a dominating college football force. Instead, it’s been something of a disaster.

The first-year head coach has overseen a 2-3 start to the season, with all three losses coming by blowout margins. The season-opening home loss to TCU was particularly depressing, with UNC dignitaries leaving at halftime and one student telling ESPN it was “one of the saddest feelings I’ve had in university so far. I’ve failed midterms before, so that’s saying something.”

A docuseries following the season was supposed to appear on Hulu at some point this year. However, it was recently reported that it was canceled, presumably because UNC wasn’t going to receive the PR puff piece it was expecting.

There have also been various reports about Belichick allowing his grudge with the Patriots to affect the program. To say nothing of the ongoing distractions involving the 73-year-old coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend/media manager.

The school is also facing a legal challenge over Belichick’s hiring, and one of his assistant coaches was recently suspended due to allegations of extra benefits.

Meanwhile, media members have been falling all over themselves to question Belichick’s hiring and claim the entire experiment is already a failure.

Monday, a detailed story from WRAL’s Pat Welter titled “Divided locker room, disastrous results: Players, parents blame Belichick culture for UNC problems,” portrayed the Tar Heels program under Belichick as a chaotic mess and paints an unflattering portrait of general manager Michael Lombardi, who has previously referred to UNC as “the NFL’s 33rd team.” That story led to an internal focus on stopping leakers, which is always a bad sign when that’s your priority.

All of which brings us to Wednesday, when Andrew Jones of TarHeel247 reported that North Carolina officials have held “preliminary conversations” about “potential exit strategy discussions” with Belichick. Jones even went so far as to say it was not certain that Belichick would still be UNC’s coach by the time they play Cal on Friday night (via FootballScoop).

On its own, that seems somewhat unlikely. However, The Guardian’s Ollie Connolly, who was tapped into UNC’s initial hiring of Belichick in December, followed that up with a report saying that Belichick has reportedly discussed buyout options with the school and signaled a willingness to trigger his $1 million buyout if “a soft landing with another team or in media” presents itself.

Members of Belichick’s coaching staff have already spoken to other schools that are expected to be in CFB Playoff about taking on roles during the postseason. From one coach: “the rats are leaving the ship”.

Some staffers believe a change will come within two weeks

— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) October 8, 2025

Members of Belichick’s coaching staff have already spoken to other schools that are expected to be in CFB Playoff about taking on roles during the postseason,” wrote Connolly. “From one coach: ‘the rats are leaving the ship.’ Some staffers believe a change will come within two weeks.”

From one UNC defensive assistant: “What we’ve done to these kids is fucked up.”

— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) October 8, 2025

Belichick’s communication with his staff in the past two weeks has been described as “weird” and “distant” by multiple members of UNC’s coaching staff,” added Connolly. “Multiple coaches were unable to get hold of him during UNC’s bye week.

“From one UNC defensive assistant: ‘What we’ve done to these kids is f*cked up.'”

From a media standpoint, Belichick had amassed a series of gigs before taking the UNC job. He appeared regularly on the ManningCast, Inside the NFL, The Pat McAfee Show, and the Let’s Go! Podcast, co-hosted a weekly ESPN+ show with Peyton Manning, and joined The 33rd Team as a strategic advisor.

Assuming that other coaching opportunities don’t arise, and chances are this UNC performance will put the nail in that coffin for a while, a return to any number of those media opportunities looks reasonably possible. Belichick is still regarded as an NFL genius with eight total Super Bowl rings, so much like Urban Meyer, he’ll be able to wash the stink of this season off him if he chooses.

We have no doubt that more reports and rumors will come in over the days ahead, so buckle your seatbelts.