CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — An assistant coach with the North Carolina Tar Heels football team will resume his duties after being suspended earlier this month, head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday.
During a press conference ahead of North Carolina’s matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers, Belichick was asked about cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins, who, according to the athletics department, was suspended “for violating NCAA rules related to extra benefits”.
Belichick told reporters that Hawkins had returned to the team following an investigation from the university.
“He’s back,” Belichick said. “The university cleared him. They went through their process with him.”
When asked if he had done enough to educate his staff about NCAA rules, Belichick stated he had.
“We’ve all gone through the compliance courses,” he said. “If anything, I feel we’ve maybe spent too much time on it. We’ve gone over and over and over it to make sure we have it right.”
Hawkins, like many others on Belichick’s staff, is in his first year with the program. He previously worked with Steve Belichick, UNC’s defensive coordinator and the head coach’s son, at Washington.
According to public records, Hawkins was hired on Jan. 23 and is making $275,000 in salary this season.
The Tar Heels currently sit at 2-4 this season. They lost their first two conference matchups with Clemson and California ahead of their third ACC game with Virginia.
The Cavaliers have won all three of their conference games and are in second in place in the ACC with a 6-1 record.