Steve Belichick, North Carolina's defensive coordinator and son of head coach Bill Belichick, has resigned. But why?
That's the part that's unclear. What we do know is that Steve was on medical leave away from the team since Aug. 6 and -- per UNC -- his resignation will take place on Oct. 27 at the end of that leave.
On Thursday, the same day as the news about Steve Belichick broke, North Carolina released a lengthy statement regarding the results of an independent investigation, finding "that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina's values and standards of conduct. "
But that wasn't specifically about Belichick. So there's some uncertainty about what led to his resignation.
Full UNC statement. https://t.co/CDS8Anj5rj pic.twitter.com/1uMtcu2SkB
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 17, 2026
Why did Steve Belichick resign from UNC?
There's no official answer to that. There is a report from WRAL that has this to say:
People familiar with the investigation told WRAL those lawyers are asking people close to the program whether Steve Belichick used drugs at university facilities and whether he gave drugs to at least one player.
Investigators are also asking whether at least one member of UNC’s recruiting staff had a sexual relationship with at least one player, the people said. They added that investigators are asking about similar possible relationships between members of the recruiting staff and assistant coaches.
Is Steve Belichick's resignation related to GM Michael Lombardi resigning earlier this month?
That's unclear if they're connected after Lombardi was put on leave by North Carolina in July and he resigned earlier this month. Here's more from USA TODAY Sports on Lombardi:
Steve Belichick follows former North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi out the door. Lombardi also resigned Sept. 3 after over a month on administrative leave during North Carolina's investigation. The school added in its statement that Belichick's resignation closes the matter and "corrective actions" will be handled in-house
Is Steve Belichick related to Bill Belichick?
Yes. Steve is his son.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What did Steve Belichick do that led to UNC resignation? What we know
