However Bill Belichick’s first season at UNC plays out, one player won’t be around to see it.
Redshirt senior running back Caleb Hood announced his retirement Friday, five games into the 2025 season as rumors and headlines swirl around the Tar Heels’ program.
“After much thought and prayer and discussion with my family, I have decided to retire from football,” Hood wrote on Instagram. “My journey at UNC has been special and I appreciate my time here. I am exited to start the next chapter and will always take my memories of Carolina with me. I want to thank Coach Belichick, Coach Kitchens and Coach Means for giving me an opportunity, as well as all my other coaches and teammates throughout my years of football for the impact they’ve all had on my life.”
It is not clear if Hood’s retirement has to do with the ongoing issues surrounding Belichick and UNC.
Hood’s four-plus season UNC tenure was marred by injuries.
A holdover from Mack Brown’s coaching stint, he notched 44 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries this season, finishing his career with three rushing TDs on 515 yards, adding another score and 194 yards on 24 receptions.
“Caleb came to me Wednesday and shared his difficult decision to retire from playing football,” Bill Belichick said Friday in a statement. “I could feel his conviction and the peace with his playing career closing. Caleb is a great person, a leader and an exemplary teammate. He has done everything we have asked him to do as a student-athlete both on and off the field and he has been a model representation of our program. He has battled through injuries the last couple years and worked hard this offseason to stay healthy and compete every day this season. He will always be a Tar Heel and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
For Belichick, it’s another UNC headline in a season full of bad ones.
From the start of his collegiate run, he and 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson have been at the center of controversy regarding their relationship and her presence in the public facets of his life.
This week has brought a whole new onslaught of bad press, following a blowout loss to Clemson to fall to 2-3 on the season.
Speculation over Belichick’s immediate future at the school began with reports of the sides having “exit strategy discussions,” which followed reports of Belichick-recruited transfers getting preferential treatment that includes parking spots, game tickets and a lack of consequences for missing classes and workouts.
A Hulu docuseries about his first season with the Tar Heels was also reportedly scrapped.
Not helping matters was cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins being suspended in relation to extra benefits allegations.
Amid the reports, Belichick and UNC AD Bubba Cunningham released statements on Wednesday stating their commitment to building the program together.
Now, Belichick will have a roster hole to navigate, too.