Pete Thamel gives update on Bill Belichick’s future at North Carolina
By David Wasson
Published:
The Bill Belichick era at North Carolina has not been auspicious so far, what with the 2-3 start to the season, alleged recruiting violations by Tar Heels staff and drama surrounding Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.
ESPN reporter Pete Thamel checked in surrounding reports about Belichick’s future in Chapel Hill on Saturday during College GameDay in the wake of both Belichick and UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham releasing mid-week statements affirming Belichick’s presence with the program.
“What’s real is that those statements signal short-term commitment from sides, from both UNC and from Bill Belichick,” Thamel said. “Talking to sources around the industry, the fact that they needed to make statements 5 games into the Belichick era is a signal flare that this is an inflection point for Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
“Nothing is imminent… but it appears at the end of the season that there will be a crossroads. Either there is significant changes at North Carolina on the roster, on the staff, in the front office – they brought in 70 new players and it simply hasn’t worked out – or there is some type of exit for Bill Belichick at the end of the year.”
Thamel noted that North Carolina has 36 high school commitments in the 2026 recruiting class, and that Chapel Bill was spotted at a high school game Friday night in Maryland.
“It will be really interesting to see how things unfold in the next few weeks, because the situation right now simply put isn’t very good,” Thamel said.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
