The Athletic has live coverage of UNC vs. TCU from College Football Week 0 action in Dublin, Ireland.As North Carolina kicked off the football season against TCU on Saturday in Ireland, general manager Michael Lombardi — Bill Belichick’s longtime confidant and right-hand man — remained on administrative leave as the school’s general counsel and an outside law firm’s investigation into a human resources complaint against Lombardi extended into a second month.Lombardi, whose $1.5 million salary makes him the highest-paid GM in college football, retained lawyer Tom Mars, who has represented many clients in high-profile college sports cases. On Saturday morning, Mars called the investigation a “witch hunt.”Where UNC stands entering Year 2 under Bill BelichickBrendan Marks and Lauren Morales-Jones“If UNC had grounds to fire Michael for cause, they wouldn’t need to conduct such a far-ranging, lengthy witch hunt. They would have done so by now,” Mars told The Athletic. “I think the motive behind the investigation goes further than a $1.5 million buyout. After all, UNC could fire Michael (or the athletic director or any head coach) for no reason at all just by paying their buyout. In today’s world, $1.5 million is just a drop in the bucket, so there must be other reasons behind this multimillion-dollar investigation.”Friday evening, ESPN published a story detailing examples of staffing rifts and perceived NCAA violations. One staffer wrote, in notes shared with The Athletic, to the UNC administration early in the Belichick tenure that the new regime was doing things any way but “the Carolina Way,” and there is a need to be very concerned about the future, including issues with football staffing turnover. The staffer requested anonymity to protect against retaliation.