North Carolina places Michael Lombardi on administrative leave

North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi, a longtime Bill Belichick adviser and one of the central figures in the Tar Heels’ NFL-styled rebuild, has been placed on paid administrative leave days before the program opens preseason camp.

The school announced the move Monday morning but did not give a reason. In its statement, North Carolina said employees and athletes are not permitted to discuss the matter “as is standard procedure with personnel matters.”

ESPN reported that the leave stems from a “human resources complaint filed by a former UNC front office employee.” The school has not publicly addressed that report or provided additional details about the complaint.

Lombardi arrived in Chapel Hill after North Carolina hired Belichick in December 2024, joining the former New England Patriots coach in a high-profile move from the NFL to college football. Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl-winning coach, brought Lombardi in quickly as part of his effort to reshape the Tar Heels’ program.

Lombardi’s background includes a long career as an NFL executive. He served as general manager of the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and has been closely associated with Belichick during his career. At North Carolina, he took on a front-office role that reflected Belichick’s stated approach to building a college program with professional football structures and personnel practices.

A few months into Belichick’s tenure, Lombardi described that vision directly, saying the Tar Heels aimed to operate like an NFL franchise. Because of the staff’s professional connections, he said North Carolina “consider ourselves the 33rd [NFL] team.”

North Carolina hired Belichick to energize a football program that had often been an Atlantic Coast Conference also-ran, with occasional but unsustained rises into national relevance. The move brought national attention to Chapel Hill and marked one of the most prominent NFL-to-college coaching transitions in recent years.

According to CBS Sports, Lombardi is one of the highest-paid general managers in college football, earning $1.5 million annually. CBS Sports also reported that he is credited with helping North Carolina sign a top-25 recruiting class during the 2026 cycle.

The administrative leave comes at a sensitive point in the Tar Heels’ calendar. Preseason camp is set to begin within days, and the team is preparing for Belichick’s second season after going 4-8 in his first year. North Carolina opens the season against TCU in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 29.

The university has not said how long Lombardi will remain on leave or who will handle his duties while he is away from the program.