The 2025 North Carolina football team has been nothing short of an embarrassment and a disaster. The Tar Heels are 2-3 this year, but have been blown out in all three games against power conference opponents. The disaster has expanded to off-the-field issues. A coach was suspended due to recruiting violations, and there were rumors that Belichick would leave his position as coach.
On Thursday, Pablo Torre reported that multiple sources told him North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi left the team two weeks before their season-opener to seek fundraising in Saudi Arabia. This allegation is massive, and Torre said he would explore it further on his next episode of “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”
Torre elaborated to X: “On tomorrow’s @pablofindsout… Multiple sources tell me that UNC general manager Mike Lombardi left the team in August, two weeks before the season-opener, to fundraise in Saudi Arabia. There is a lot more in the episode beyond that. More to come.”
The deep dive comes after Torre was at the forefront of some reporting about Bill Belichick and his relationship with Jordon Hudson. He revealed that Hudson was acting as Belichick’s agent/manager.
Torre is now aiming at Michael Lombardi, another person associated with Belichick. He went to North Carolina with Belichick to be the general manager of the football program. He has extensive experience in the NFL, working in the front office for teams like the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Oakland Raiders.
However, he has never worked at the college football level, and his inexperience might be showing. The college sports landscape is all about funding for NIL opportunities. If Torre's reporting about him going to Saudi Arabia is true, he was unafraid to try to do anything to get that funding.
Lombardi is not the first college assistant to try to obtain investment money from Saudi Arabia. In 2024, former Colorado special teams coach Trevor Reilly traveled to lobby the country’s Public Investment Fund for NIL money. However, he resigned before the 2024 season started.
It is also worth noting that Lombardi is still with the program and has rubbed many in the program the wrong way, specifically parents. If Belichick stays in North Carolina past this year, whether or not he stays with the program could get interesting.
