North Carolina Weighs How to Structure New General Manager Role Under Belichick

North Carolina is working toward naming a new general manager for its football program, and the way the school structures the job could say a great deal about the future of coach Bill Belichick's tenure. The search follows the July 27 suspension of Michael Lombardi, who was college football's highest-paid general manager. The school cited an HR investigation. Lombardi was Belichick's handpicked GM and his first hire, and he officially resigned in early September.

Since the suspension, sources with knowledge of the program's management structure say Belichick has effectively handled the GM duties himself. That is expected to change once the search concludes, though a source familiar with the process said a permanent GM is not likely to be in place before the end of the regular season. Former Michigan GM Sean Magee is consulting with the program while his firm, TurnkeyZRG, leads the search.

On the field, the Tar Heels are 4-3 with two close losses, and people around the program say the team has improved. A bowl game is highly likely but not guaranteed. The bar is higher than that, however, since North Carolina has been almost exactly a .500 program since 2000 at 165-167. The 2027 recruiting class has 16 commitments, a typical number for this point in the cycle. The new GM is expected to handle the transfer portal, which opens in January, and work to retain the current roster.

One possibility is a model in which the GM reports to both athletic director Steve Newmark and Belichick. Lombardi reported only to Belichick, according to a copy of his original employment letter obtained by CBS Sports. A dual reporting line is popular as college football professionalizes, and it differs from Belichick's NFL years. With the New England Patriots he was the league's designated "primary football executive," effectively the general manager without the title.

Roster money makes autonomy for a GM more important. Belichick's contract guarantees at least $20 million in roster spending. Florida, Oklahoma, Stanford and California all have versions of an empowered GM. North Carolina must also contend with men's basketball, a major priority at the school. According to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, new coach Mike Malone's roster is in the $20 million club, near the top of the sport. Even so, football remains the main economic driver of an athletic department.

An industry source wondered whether Belichick would prefer someone with NFL experience. NFL personnel executives have increasingly looked at college jobs, mainly for the pay, and Lombardi earned a nation-leading $1.5 million in annual base pay. Yet some parts of college football, especially sales and hospitality roles tied to recruiting, still operate in older ways.

University politics also loom. The search that brought Belichick to Chapel Hill was fractured, with trustees pushing for him while athletic department administrators worked with more conventional names. Compensation is far less standardized than in the NFL, where comparable production sets pay benchmarks. College rosters have no true salary cap. The highest-paid rosters are around $50 million, while the revenue-sharing cap is around $21 million, and it remains to be seen how firmly CSC enforcement will apply.

It is unclear who is being considered, but the choice will be a bellwether, particularly for Belichick, whose contract is no longer guaranteed after the 2027 season. A GM who does not answer to Belichick alone could signal someone built to outlast him. Still, Belichick is known for working with longtime associates. He and Lombardi go back to the Browns in the 1990s. His son Steve left the staff amid the same investigation that involved Lombardi, and his other son, Brian, remains on staff.

North Carolina next faces Miami on Saturday, putting its middle-of-the-pack ACC roster against one of the nation's highest-powered teams. The future of that roster is expected to be among the most closely watched personnel storylines in college football this offseason.