Frustration around the North Carolina football program appears plentiful amid the team’s disastrous 2-3 start.

As Bill Belichick simply tries to figure out how to make his team competitive in the ACC and get to six wins to make a bowl game, people in and around the North Carolina football program are publicly talking about issues they believe exist at UNC. 

In a lengthy story by WRAL News in Raleigh, parents of players and others associated with the program highlighted things they think have contributed to North Carolina’s rocky start. And some of the frustrations go all the way back to when Belichick was hired in December.

From WRAL:

Failure to communicate with players and parents has also furthered the divide. According to sources, the players who chose to stay at UNC after Mack Brown's firing didn't meet Belichick for weeks after he was hired. Parents were told not to approach Belichick. They didn't meet Belichick and his staff until the "Practice like a Pro" spring game.

"There's been no communication with coaches and parents, period," a parent of a current UNC player said. "None, zero, zilch. Not one email from a coach, one text, phone call, nothing."

Under Mack Brown, parents had relationships with coaches and their phone numbers. Coaches might call a parent if they felt something was going on with their son. Multiple sources have said that Belichick's son, Brian, the defensive back/safeties coach, is very personable. Belichick's son Steve, the defensive coordinator, they said, is the opposite.

"He has not talked or had a conversation with most of the guys on defense," a source said. "They don't even have his number."

Additionally, the story cited multiple sources who said that general manager Michael Lombardi was "rude" and "nasty." One person even said that "no one likes him."

Lombardi has helped take on the role of being the face of the North Carolina program. He regularly appears on the weekly North Carolina coaches show instead of Belichick. The former Patriots coach has an unusual agreement with the show. As most coaches across the country do a coaches show every week, Belichick only has to make limited appearances.

Lombardi and Belichick worked together with the Cleveland Browns and Lombardi also spent three years with the Patriots while Belichick was there. As Belichick's two sons are on the defensive coaching staff — Steve Belichick was Washington's defensive coordinator in 2024 before moving to Chapel Hill — Lombardi's son Matt is the quarterbacks coach. He was an offensive analyst for Oregon in 2024 after five seasons as an NFL assistant.

As Belichick famously hadn't coached in college football before taking the North Carolina job, Lombardi's only college job before running UNC's football team came in the 1980s when he got his start as UNLV's recruiting coordinator. 

Not only does North Carolina have a losing record so far this season, none of its losses have been close. The Tar Heels are 0-3 against power conference teams and have been blown out in all of those games. UNC lost 48-14 to TCU in Week 1, 34-9 to UCF in Week 4 and 38-10 to Clemson on Saturday. The Tigers scored 28 first-quarter points in that game and could easily have scored 50 or more had they kept their foot on the gas.

It's been clear that North Carolina's offseason roster overhaul did not infuse the team with especially more talent than it had in 2024. North Carolina was 6-7 in Brown's final season. As Belichick and Lombardi brought in over 70 new players via traditional recruiting and the transfer portal, the WRAL story points out that players recruited by Belichick may be getting preferential treatment.

According to several sources, some Belichick-recruited transfers have preferential parking for themselves and their parents, as well as more tickets for games. Khmori House and Thaddeus Dixon played for Belichick's son, Steve Belichick, at the University of Washington. Their names come up repeatedly when talking to sources about preferential treatment. Dixon's family has field access on game days, something that no other family is believed to have.

According to sources, there's a board in the UNC football facility that lists people who have missed workouts and class. Some Belichick-recruited players repeatedly show up on the list but have not had their playing time affected.

North Carolina is off in Week 7 before playing seven games in seven weeks to end the season. That stretch begins on Oct. 17 in a cross-country trip to a Cal team that is 4-2 before hosting No. 19 Virginia.