The Drama Continues at UNC as Steve Belichick Goes on Medical Leave and Chapel Bill is Going to Court to Defend Himself Against a Lawsuit

Jared C. Tilton. Getty Images.

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them."

 - Hamlet

I offer this quote not just to show off my state college education. (I was assigned the book but didn't read it until after I left Bridgewater State. Because I was too lazy to return it to the book store and needed something to read on the MBTA every day.) Though there is that. When you have the same degree as Jordon Hudson, you earn the right to flex your big brain muscles. 

But more so because this familiar passage comes quickly to mind when you look at the situation at Chapel Hill for the greatest football coach the world has ever known. Like the Prince of Denmark himself, Belichick is son of a great king. He's suffered more slings and arrows than probably any public figure. The fortunes he's experienced have often been outrageous. And ever since the end of the 2023 NFL season, he's been fighting against the current that's been working to drag him to the bottom of the Sea of Troubles. To mix nautical, classical drama metaphors for a second, compared to what he's been enduring, Odysseus' 10 years at sea were a Viking River Cruise up the Danube.

A week or so ago, he lost his right hand man:

From what I understand, this is a bit of an administrative nothingburger with cheese; just UNC covering their administrative asses over a former football staffer the school itself chose to let go. But still, Mike Lombardi, who's been the Hand of the King off and on since they were with the Browns together in the mid-90s, is out for an indefinite period of time.

What's much more troubling is the sound of Belichick's defensive coordinator/son going on medical leave:

Source -  Head coach Bill Belichick announced Thursday morning that his son and defensive coordinator, Steve Belichick, has stepped away from the program on medical leave. When we asked whether Steve would be back in time for the season opener, the elder Belichick did not commit to a date for a return. He said only that his son would return "as soon as possible."

That was the extent of it. Belichick did not offer specifics on the nature of the medical situation, and he did not name an interim play-caller or lay out how the defensive staff will divide responsibilities while Steve is away. For a program already trying to steady itself after a rough debut season, the timing is not ideal, and the lack of a timeline leaves plenty of open questions heading into the fall.

You certainly can't hold it against a head coach/father for playing this close to the vest. He didn't talk about injuries in the NFL, he's not going to start now.  It's none of anyone's business what Steve's situation is. Whether he's got the sniffles or needs surgery or is seeing an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist:

… that's between him, his family, and the HIPAA laws. 

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There's just no way you can suffer a loss to your staff like this, no matter how long, and not feel it. Steve is part of the third generation of Belichick's to master the art of tackle football defense. He was raised like a child actor to do exactly what he's doing. He thinks his head coach's thoughts like they're embedded in his genetic code. Because they are. And the one season he's spent calling defenses for someone other than his father, all he did was take his team to the National Championship Game. This loss will have consequences. 

And just to pile on, the HC of the NCTHs also has a legal issue I wrote about a while back:

And rather than settle out of court, pay this guy off and be done with it, he's choosing to fight. To put this matter before a jury and let them decide:

Source -  Bill Belichick is reportedly willing to go to trial over his legal dispute involving a painter in Nantucket.

Back in April, it emerged that the painter, Andrew Jackson, was suing the UNC coach for $300,000 after he was allegedly hurt on Belichick's $5million Nantucket property. 

According to the lawsuit, Jackson said he fell during a painting job on Belichick's Fair Street home in June 2024 due to 'dangerous and unsafe' working conditions.

Now, though, the New York Post reports that Belichick wants a jury trial and has filed a complaint against Levesque Builders Inc as he fights back against the lawsuit.

It should be noted that in the time it took me and you to read that excerpt, Belichick made $300,000 just on interest from his savings alone. Hell, Jordon's real estate portfolio probably grew by twice that. 

Still, he's going to fight, just on general principle. He doesn't believe he's in the wrong, and he's not going to cave in, any more than he did on Spygate or Deflategate or Spygate 2 or anything else. As I wrote the lawsuit was filed:

Belichick taught us all something else, a billion times over. Which is the importance of preparation. Situational awareness. Understanding what needs to be done, and executing. To steal a phrase: Do Your Job. 

Oh, there was plastic sheeting and drop cloths around? Wow. It almost sounds like … I don't know … the place was being painted. And they didn't want primer and Antarctic Blue flat latex all over the hardwood and the sofa. Yup. That checks out. That's the situation in every room that's ever been painted since the dawn of civilization. We're talking about plastic tarpaulins, which are the most common substance when there's work being done. It's not like Bill and Jordon dug a tiger pit for this guy and put dung-tipped bamboo spikes at the bottom. But somehow it took this one career house painter was taken completely by surprise. And paid the price. …

Still, this cash grab should go nowhere. Either the painter has insurance or he lied about having insurance. Because there's no way Belichick would ever go into this transaction without checking on that. Any more than he'd not ask the official before Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta how long it would take the roof to close after the flyover, so he could decide which end zone to defend. …

So yeah, sorry about your bum ankle, fella. But you don't go up against a man who's been winning at life for 50 years. Just take the L and get back to your next job.

You just have to look at this distraction piling up on all the others and wonder if that winning streak is in jeopardy. If anyone is capable of handling it all, it's Belichick. But it's fair to ask whether the Chapel Bill edition of him is ever going to be able take on all these problems and, in Shakespeare's words, "end them."