Forget about all the Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson drama that engulfed Chapel Hill last fall.
No, according to North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi, it was actually a flood of “fake rumors and fake stories” that made things appear worse than the reality during Belichick’s first year.
“All during those stormy times, all during when the boat was getting capsized, when people were attacking us with fake rumors and fake stories all over — nobody’s corrected them yet, but that’s OK, we understand — our players hung together,” Lombardi said on the “Pat McAfee Show” Friday. “We did not lose one single recruit to another team. Now, they tried. A lot of that, to me, was the dedication of our recruiting class, and that’s what I think gives all of everybody in this program the lift that we need.
“Look, let’s face it. If you’re not worth a darn, they’re not going to attack you. Some programs are not worth attacking. They’re going to attack us. We expect it. It’s all good. We’ve been in the arena before. We don’t listen to the noise. We focus on what we have to focus on and we move forward.”
After arguably the greatest coaching run in the history of the NFL with the Patriots, Belichick’s transition to the college level did not go well.
The Tar Heels went just 4-8, appearing overmatched for stretches and losing three straight games to end the season, including a 42-19 beatdown in the Nov. 29 finale against in-state rival NC State.
Along the way, the relationship between Belichick, 73, and Hudson, 24, became a national storyline and overshadowed the program.
Rumors about whether UNC had banned her from the football facility became a talking point, plus the “CBS Sunday Morning” interview that turned into a debacle.
Even some former Patriots like Rob Gronkowski noted how Belichick, who always preached to eliminate distractions, suddenly had welcomed controversy in this program.
Lombardi chalked that up the focus on Belichick to the perceived bias against the coach.
“It was (loud), but I think, look, we probably have to understand that we were going to get attacked,” Lombardi said. “I didn’t think it was going to be on an everyday basis, but it is what it is.”
Ultimately, Belichick will be viewed on wins and losses and he will need to avoid is Year 1 disaster.
Lombardi is optimistic about the team’s chances in Belichick’s season.
“We’ve got a lot of good, young players. We’ve added players in the portal,” Lombardi said.
“This year allows us to be more of a Belichickian team where we can go out there and focus on fundamental, techniques and improve the players.”
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