North Carolina cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins is back with the Tar Heels after serving a brief suspension, head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday.
Hawkins was suspended on Oct. 9 for violating NCAA rules related to extra benefits, the university said. The suspension came after an exclusive WRAL report about problems in the program, including potential NCAA violations involving extra benefits.
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"The university cleared him," Belichick said on Tuesday. "They went through their process with him, and he's back."
The university said Hawkins would remain on leave as the athletics department investigated “other potential actions detrimental to the team and university.” Hawkins missed UNC’s game at Cal on Friday.
WRAL has also learned from multiple sources that Hawkins had a verbal conflict with a player. According to sources that interaction affected the player's playing time versus Clemson.
Asked whether a player was benched after a conflict with the coach, the university athletic department had no comment.
UNC (2-4 overall, 0-2 in the ACC) hosts Virginia Saturday in Chapel Hill.
Belichick, in his first season as a college coach, was selected as one of 12 coaches to be considered for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Belichick said his staff has
“We’ve all gone through the compliance courses, whether it be in recruiting, practices, time management, hourly requirements and so forth,” Belichick said. “I would say, if anything, I feel like maybe we’ve spent too much time on it to be honest with you. I mean we’ve gone over and over and over it to make sure that we have it right. And every time we check it, I just want to triple check and make sure we’re okay on this. Right now, we’re still making sure that we’re trying to do every single thing right. I think that’s the right thing to do.
“Did something come up? Will something come up? I’m sure it probably will. It does in every program, but we’re certainly not trying to, in any way, not take advantage of our compliance people and people that have more experience with some of the subtler rules or restrictions."
On Oct. 9, UNC released the following statement:
“North Carolina assistant football coach Armond Hawkins has been suspended for violating NCAA rules related to extra benefits. He will remain on leave as the Department of Athletics further investigates other potential actions detrimental to the team and university.”