North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi acknowledged that the program, under new coach Bill Belichick, is considering a behind-the-scenes look at the team amid a report that the Tar Heels could be the focus of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason.”
“There’s a lot of conversations going on right now about that,” Lombardi said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday. “We’ve had a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program and kind of do the behind-the-scenes things, but I don’t think anything’s yet been official or signed.”
Lombardi was asked about a Front Office Sports report that North Carolina would be featured on the show that debuted last year with the New York Giants and is an offshoot of long-running HBO series “Hard Knocks.” He said it would be a university decision but added that “Hard Knocks” does an “incredible job.”
Belichick was hired as North Carolina coach in December for his first foray into the college ranks, and he brought on Lombardi to serve as the team’s general manager.
Lombardi said the possibility of getting a look at how Belichick runs the team would be compelling.
“There’s not many times you can have the greatest coach of all time take you into a meeting,” Lombardi said.
Belichick never took part in “Hard Knocks” during his NFL coaching career, as the New England Patriots were never selected for the program, which debuted in 2001.
According to Front Office Sports, North Carolina was chosen, in part, due to reluctance from NFL teams to participate in the offseason version of the show after the Giants drew scrutiny due largely to revelations related to their decision not to re-sign running back Saquon Barkley.
“If you’re doing ‘Hard Knocks,’ you’ve gotta really be able to teach a class … on how this all happens,” Lombardi said.