Why Steve Belichick resigned as UNC's defensive coordinator

North Carolina is off to a 2-0 start to the 2026 season, but defensive coordinator Steve Belichick has not and will not be part of the team moving forward.

Belichick, who has been on medical leave since early August, resigned from his role as defensive coordinator on Thursday morning. The assistant coach initially followed his father, Bill Belichick, to the Tar Heels and spent all of 2025 as the team's defensive leader.

Belichick's resignation came as North Carolina concluded an internal investigation into conduct within the football program, and the defensive coordinator was not the first to resign. Moving forward, the investigation is resolved, and the Tar Heels can look ahead to the rest of their season.

Here's the latest on Belichick's resignation.

MORE: What to know about investigation into North Carolina football 

Steve Belichick has been on medical leave from the North Carolina football program since August 6, but he officially resigned from the team on Thursday. He is the second prominent figure to have resigned from the team in the last few weeks, joining former general manager Mike Lombardi.

North Carolina announced Belichick's resignation will take effect on October 27, when his current medical leave ends.

Belichick and Lombardi were reportedly at the center of an investigation into North Carolina that involves sex and drugs in the program, per WRAL News. As part of the report, lawyers allegedly asked members of the North Carolina football program about Belichick's potential drug use on university grounds, and whether he provided drugs to at least one player on the team.

Belichick's medical leave meant he missed the first two games of North Carolina's season, but head coach Bill Belichick had hoped he would return at some point.

"My son Steve is on medical leave," Belichick said before the first game of the season against TCU. "We look forward to getting him back as soon as possible. That's a medical situation, so I really can't make any further comment on that."

After Belichick resigned, North Carolina announced the investigation into the program was over.

"The investigation determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina's values and standards of conduct," the school said in a statement. "The investigation also found that these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure."

Full UNC statement. https://t.co/CDS8Anj5rj pic.twitter.com/1uMtcu2SkB

North Carolina did not, however, reveal the scope or extent of its investigation into the football team.

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