UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is away from the program on medical leave, head coach Bill Belichick said Thursday at the Kenan Football Center. Steve Belichick had been scheduled to address the media last Thursday following the Tar Heels’ first practice of fall camp, but did not appear at the podium. Bill Belichick said the program hopes to get Steve back “as soon as possible.”

“We coach the defense collectively as a staff,” Bill Belichick said Thursday. “So we’ll continue to do that. Those guys are involved with everybody.”

As for play-calling duties should Steve not rejoin the team before the season opener later this month, Bill deferred, only saying, “We’ll see.”

Steve Belichick’s medical leave comes as general manager Michael Lombardi continues to be on paid administrative leave. Lombardi’s leave was first announced July 27 and can last a maximum of 30 days. There was no update to the investigation into Lombardi’s conduct as of Thursday morning.

Steve Belichick joined the UNC program prior to the 2025 season, shortly after his father was named head coach. He spent the 2024 season at the University of Washington, but the two Belichicks have worked together before: Steve served on his father’s staff with the New England Patriots for more than a decade, ending his time there as the Patriots’ defensive play-caller.

Under Steve Belichick’s leadership, UNC ranked 24th nationally in red zone defense, allowing only 23 touchdowns in 44 total trips to the red zone by opposing offenses. Carolina’s 24.5 points allowed per game ranked 66th out of 134 teams nationally and its 336.9 total yards allowed per game ranked 38th.

UNC opens the season Saturday, Aug. 29 against TCU in Dublin, Ireland as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
Amid Cloud of Uncertainty, UNC Football Opens 2026 Fall Training Camp
UNC took the field in Chapel Hill Thursday morning to open its fall training camp. Despite prognostications of doom and a gamut of negative press, it appears the Tar Heels will, in fact, play football in 2026. The bizarre headlines trickling out of the Kenan Football Center had no doubt cast a pall over things: […]
Belichick Mum on Michael Lombardi Situation, While UNC Chancellor Vows Investigation Will 'Fix It'
UNC head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media at the Kenan Football Center as the Tar Heels opened their fall training camp Thursday morning. It was Belichick’s first public appearance since the university announced Monday that general manager Michael Lombardi was being put on paid administrative leave for what is being reported as an HR […]
'Nobody Likes to Lose': UNC Football Motivated by Frustrations of 2025 Season
The 2025 football season saw UNC end on a three-game losing streak. That in itself is, unfortunately for the Tar Heels, not entirely unique: Carolina lost three straight to end the 2024 and 2023 seasons and closed out the 2022 season on an ugly four-game slide. But it was the way in which the Tar […]
'Go Heels, Through and Through': UNC Football Speaks at the 2026 ACC Kickoff
Members of the UNC football team spoke to the media at the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte Friday. Head coach Bill Belichick, receiver Jordan Shipp, offensive lineman Christo Kelly and defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude addressed several topics, including the upcoming season and last year’s difficult campaign. Below are highlights from Friday’s media session: Melkart Abou-Jaoude […]
Chansky's Notebook: The One Who Got Away
Mack Brown was a very good football coach. His father was a high school coach in Tennessee, and his older brother Watson preceded him into mid-major positions. The peripatetic Brown held nine assistant jobs and one as a head coach in 15 years before he was 35. That included being the athletic director at Tulane […]
Taking Advantage of Court Ruling, UNC Kicker Rece Verhoff Returns to Program
Kicker Rece Verhoff is returning to the UNC football program and plans to play in the 2026 season, taking advantage of a recent court ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney which granted a fifth year of eligibility to athletes who graduated high school in 2022. Welcome back Rece Verhoff pic.twitter.com/Fwk0Z4PeNB — Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) […]
Shaquille O'Neal Featured Among 2026 Performers for Chapel Thrill Concert Series
UNC has announced its setlist for the 2026 Chapel Thrill Concert Series. The series is part of the school’s “Chapel Thrill Game Day,” which debuted in 2025. The concerts are the centerpiece of the festivities, with the stage located on Polk Place in front of Wilson Library in the heart of the UNC campus. Each […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Cost of Business
Carolina has released its salary structure for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season, and right now it has to be a game of wait and see. Mike Malone is making $7.5 million in his first college head coaching season and his new top assistant Chuck Martin is making $500,000. Here is where it gets interesting. The […]
Check out the Full Schedule for UNC's ACC Network Takeover
The ACC Network will air a full day of UNC games from the 2025-26 academic year Wednesday, July 1. It’s part of a series of ACC Network Takeovers, which started June 24 and include all 18 member schools. UNC’s takeover includes wall-to-wall coverage from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The broadcast day gets underway with […]
UNC Football's Upcoming Home-and-Home Series With South Carolina Cancelled
The UNC football program’s upcoming home-and-home series against South Carolina has been cancelled. The Tar Heels were scheduled to visit Columbia in 2028 and host the Gamecocks in Chapel Hill in 2029. In a brief release, UNC said the expanded conference schedules in both the SEC and ACC, which will see schools play nine league […]
›