Bill Belichick’s problem at UNC appears to be a never-ending saga. As of now, the Tar Heels’ record is an unremarkable 2-2, with both wins coming against overmatched teams. But now Belichick is facing a different set of problems, one that is directly related to the start of his CFB career. Belichick’s high-profile hire by North Carolina has landed the Tar Heels in hot water. A lawsuit filed this week by former UNC provost Chris Clemens paints a sketch of possible shady business behind the scenes. According to Clemens, the university’s board of trustees may have broken North Carolina’s Open Meetings Law when wheeling and dealing with Belichick’s contract and conference realignment talks, in private.

The rooms were locked with hardly a whisper in public. Apparently, Clemens says the board skipped doing a “net present cost” financial analysis that’s usually standard for big deals and missed out on weighing long-term financial risks. The public session? More like a show, with real discussions happening behind closed doors. Clemens’ lawsuits lie on three occasions that took place: the December Belichick hire meeting, a November 2023 session discussing UNC’s crossroads between ACC, SEC, and Big Ten membership, and the last one in May 2024 focused on conference realignment strategies and athletic budgets.

He said they should have discussed these topics more transparently. Plus, after this came to light, people are pressuring Clemens to resign.

What sparked the allegations around Bill Belichick’s UNC hiring?

The drama starts in December 2024, when UNC supposedly called an “emergency meeting” with little warning. An urgency like that happened because former coach, Mac Brown, almost walked away abruptly after a 70-50 loss to James Madison. His complaints? Lack of investment created tensions on the board. And especially chair John Preyer, who pushed for aggressive audits and financial overhauls. So while candidates were looking through quietly by AD Bubba Cunningham, the board was playing its own game. The political connections played well when former Senator Marco Rubio reached out to Senator Thom Tillis.

Just then, Belichick’s interest was flagged early to key power players. Board members saw Belichick as a public relations jackpot worth the headache. They thought they got themselves a Deion Sanders. In December 2024, the board reportedly submitted an “offer sheet” to Belichick’s camp without full athletic department approval. Negotiations were tense, with Belichick demanding autonomy, increased assistant pay, and player acquisition funds. Plus, he wanted the complete freedom of running the program on his terms, not a new resort for Belichick. Then, finally, they offered a $50 million, five-year deal with near-total control of the program.

What is Bill Belichick’s current role at UNC?

Belichick’s role as head coach at UNC is under serious threat. The secret meetings allegations by Clemens hold a different kind of weight. It stirs a major controversy about Belichick’s tenure at Chapel Hill. Plus, it questions the legitimacy of UNC’s leadership decisions. The legal action highlights a “pattern and practice” of the board deliberately holding closed sessions to avoid public scrutiny. And it’s not just about the Belichick hire. UNC’s conference shift discussion also took place in a very hush-hush way. The Tar Heels sat at a crossroads where both the SEC and Big Ten dreamt of adding UNC’s storied brand to their expanding empires.

On top of that, insider news is inclined towards an unofficial handshake with the SEC. The backdrop? The ACC’s exit fee was a crushing $165 million for 2025-26 departures. That’ll slowly drop over the next several years. People believe all these discussions occurred behind closed doors, though UNC officials have not publicly confirmed them.

What does the lawsuit claim about the hiring process?

Chris Clemens’ lawsuit claims UNC’s violation of their open meetings law. Article 33C of General Statutes Chapter 143 codifies this law and demands that public bodies conduct meetings openly, with very limited exceptions. UNC’s boards and commissions fall under this law’s watchful eye. Meetings must be held in a way that the public can attend or at least know the details of what’s being discussed. For example, the board can’t simply say “emergency” and shut the public out without a clear justification under the law.

On December 12, 2024, officials broke this law when they turned a brief public session into a private one to negotiate the football legend’s contract. That included Belichick and his coaching sons.

Has any court proven that UNC broke the law?

As of now, no court has proven this to be a legitimate accusation that the UNC’s board of trustees has broken the law. Plus, the board completely denies this accusation of breaking the law. Among other accusations, the lawsuit notes that board members used disappearing message apps like Signal to avoid keeping public records. UNC’s board chair, Malcolm Turner, shot back, dismissing Clemens’ claims as “disappointing and inaccurate,” calling it a misuse of taxpayer money.

How is Belichick performing as UNC’s coach so far?

Bill Belichick’s first stint as a CFB coach has been more noise than results. The 2-2 record so far speaks for itself. The blowouts, though, have stung: TCU bulldozed his Tar Heels 48-14 to open the year, then UCF handed Belichick a humbling 34-9 defeat, the kind that had Chapel Hill grumbling about the coach’s NFL magic not translating to campus. Then there are the off-field controversies surrounding his former workplace. He’s thrown up a wall, literally banning New England scouts from UNC practices, an act some league insiders have called “petty.” But Belichick’s reasoning was, “I’m not welcome at their facility, so they’re not welcome at ours.”

Then there’s the on and on discussion about his love life. The Jordon Hudson controversy took place during the offseason itself. But it slowly rose to be something very tasteless. And especially after Hudson’s recent visit to a game with her bizarre fashion sense, sparked a lot of heat. And then the fresh talk of him getting hired illegally. But you know what? If things get out of hand with this lawsuit, Belichick may have a way out of this contract. He signed an exit clause with UNC until June 1, 2025, for $10M and after that, it dropped to a significantly lower $1 million, allowing him more flexibility to leave for another NFL opportunity or to retire.