Divisions in the locker room and a suspended coach may not be the only challenges UNC head football coach Bill Belichick is facing. WRAL was the first to report that tensions on the team and a lack of communication with players and their families are contributing to a toxic culture on the team.

On Friday, WRAL spoke to several sources including high school football coaches, former UNC players and an NIL agent who say Belichick’s demeanor when it comes to recruiting and dealing with former players is starting to sour people from the program. 

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Those sources say Belichick has brought stark changes that have altered the future outlook of the program. 

A former UNC player said, “My concern would be, how important is the job to (Belichick)? How important is Carolina to him? Will he spend the time doing the things he didn’t have to do in the NFL? How committed is he to really doing the job that it’s going to take to get (the program) to what they’re paying him to do?”

Other former UNC football players from different eras spoke to WRAL on condition of anonymity echo those sentiments. Some told WRAL that they never thought that things would work with Belichick. Others said they knew it would be tough to implement a pro style in a college program in one season with 70 new players, so fans should be patient.

Still, sources are concerned about how UNC will look to future recruits in the long run because Belichick has not been adept at building relationships on the recruiting trail.

On Friday night, the coach was spotted on the sideline of a high school game outside Washington, D.C.

One high school football coach says he always got the feeling that Belichick was only in for one season before planning to bolt for the NFL.

“The bottom line is, you’re not the only person that can coach,” said one high school football coach. “The way they came into this was somewhat arrogant and unprepared.”

One of the reasons Belichick had to replace 70 players on his roster was because many of the Mack Brown era players who could’ve come back decided to hit the transfer portal. Many of them were North Carolina natives.

One source describes a situation where a UNC player who he knows personally wanted to stay at UNC. The player in question had a meeting with General Manager Michael Lombardi. Lombardi offered the athlete $50,000 to stay after bringing in other players in his same position group who were being paid more. The athlete informed Lombardi that he was already making $100,000, a fact that was news to Lombardi.

“After that meeting he was out of there. We’re paying this dude a million dollars and he doesn’t know what returning players are making or anything about them? You’re the GM! That blew my mind," the source said.

An NIL agent who represents high-level collegiate and high school athletes tells WRAL, “I know a kid who is a five-star who has offers from everybody. UNC got on the list because of Bill Belichick, but because of the last few weeks, they’ve dropped down the list tremendously. Why would he pass up on established programs to play for a former NFL coach that has his program in a mess?”

Another source says interest in UNC has decreased tremendously. "Every week that goes by it lowers more and more in my opinion,” that person said.

This is a sentiment a North Carolina high school coach backed up.

“Just to tell you how disconnected they are, I couldn’t tell you who recruits my area," he said. "I don't know any of them besides the running backs coach (Natrone Means). They jacked it up from the beginning.”

Means is a well-known, well-liked coach who was on Mack Brown’s coaching staff,  a North Carolina native who played at UNC and in the NFL. Means also used to coach at Winston-Salem State, so he knows the recruiting landscape in North Carolina. It was insinuated that he’s one of the only UNC coaches who has built relationships across the state with different high schools.

Another former UNC player said, “He's screwing us over," in reference to Belichick. 

"He’s getting the most amount of money that a coach has ever gotten (at UNC). Whoever the next coach is, they’re not going to get that, and people will be less likely to buy in because of this experience. It really hurts us, and I’m not sure he really gives a damn.”

That player continued, “The one thing you can not beat is relationships. You have to have relationships or have someone who does have relationships. That’s never going to change in recruiting. You have to value that.”

These quotes don’t represent the entirety of the high school recruiting landscape in North Carolina. On Thursday, HighSchoolOT.com wrote a story outlining the in-state recruits already committed to playing for UNC affirming their commitments.

"God's got us, I ain't going no where ✝️... #GoHeels 🐏," Trashawn Ruffin, a 4-star senior defensive tackle at North Duplin High School, posted.

The Griffin-Haynes brothers from Rolesville High School also affirmed their commitment as members of Carolina's 2026 recruiting class.

On Saturday, after UNC's loss to Clemson prompted an X post from On3's Ari Wasserman that said North Carolina is so bad that it was painful for him to watch, Zavion Griffin-Haynes replied, "Watch dis 💯."

Zavion, a 4-star edge rusher, took to his X account again on Wednesday to say, "MAN MY RECRUITMENT 100% STUCK IM LOCKED IN."

In an additional message to HighSchoolOT, Zavion said, "Shoot I’m tryna make a change and being unloyal to a program you wanna make a change to ain’t gonna do it and the guys I’m bringing with me wanna do the same."

Jayden Griffin-Haynes, Zavion's brother who is a 3-star linebacker, messaged HighSchoolOT saying "my recruitment shut down locked in with the Heels 💯 💯."

247sports ranks Belichick’s incoming 2026 recruiting class at number 17 in the country. Belichick also has the commitment of 2027 class running back Amir Brown, also from Rolesville High School.

Belichick’s program is making an impression on high school seniors, but some high school coaches tell WRAL that his staff is not making a good impression on younger freshmen, sophomore and junior players.

“The one thing you can not beat is relationships," one source said. "You have to have relationships or have someone who does have relationships. That’s never going to change in recruiting. You have to value that.”