North Carolina assistant coach suspended as drama swirls around Bill Belichick

Things keep getting worse around Bill Belichick and his North Carolina football program.

Cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins has been suspended in relation to extra benefits allegations raised in WRAL’s report about dysfunction within the Tar Heels’ program, according to The Athletic.

The alleged violation of NCAA rules involved sideline passes given to a player’s family members.

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick comes on the field during a timeout in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, AP

Hawkins joined the staff at UNC this year after working as a recruiting analyst and secondary coach at the University of Washington with Belichick’s son, Steve, who is now the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator.

In the scathing WRAL report, a parent of a current UNC player accused the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of fostering a “toxic environment” at Chapel Hill. 

A source close to the program told WRAL that the team’s porous 2-3 start stems from a “divided locker room” between players recruited by previous coach Mac Brown and those Belichick brought in and a “disorganized” staff that has displayed a “failure to communicate.”

“It started with recruits coming in acting entitled to certain things,” a source told the outlet. “It was about them individually, not the team. It was about me and what I was going to do.”

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, right, and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, left, pose for a photo before an NCAA college football game against Richmond, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, AP

One parent scolded Belichick and his staff’s communication skills.

“There’s been no communication with coaches and parents, period,” one parent of a UNC player claimed to WRAL. “None, zero, zilch. Not one email from a coach, one text, phone call, nothing.”

While North Carolina has wins over inferior opponents in Charlotte and Richmond, it has been outscored 120-35 by TCU, UCF and, most recently, Clemson.

It’s hardly the start the 73-year-old Belichick and the school envisioned when he took the job and the $10 million salary that came with it. Many of the headlines have also been dominated by the coach’s relationship with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.

The program announced Tuesday it was scrapping plans for a Hulu docuseries about Belichick’s first season as a college head coach.