American football: the main stories of 07.09.2026

North Carolina has opened an investigation into its football programme, and the staff Bill Belichick built in Chapel Hill is thinning around him: the general manager has resigned, and his son Steve is on medical leave. Belichick rejects the suggestion that the programme has slipped out of his hands. The denial is the point — until now the departures had been left to speak for themselves, and a head coach answering for them puts his own position inside the story. An internal review of this size will not close inside a season, so the practical question for the next few weeks is who runs the defence while Steve Belichick is away.

Sean McVay expects Puka Nacua and Alaric Jackson to face San Francisco in week 1, according to one outlet; the NFL is still weighing discipline for both and has not ruled. The same fixture produced a second line: Kyle Shanahan, quoted by a single report, described the 49ers' reaction to Aaron Donald's retirement in 2024 as cheering in the corridor. That reaction has aged badly — Donald's comeback was reported on 4 September, and he is in the Rams' rebuilt defence again on Sunday.

• The New York Giants have re-signed quarterback Jameis Winston and guard John Runyan on two-year deals, with Winston on $13m, one outlet reports.
• Michigan snatched it at the death against Western Michigan; the prediction market Kalshi had already settled the game the other way and reclaimed the money afterwards — a single report so far.
• Ciara said on 7 September she is expecting a fifth child with quarterback Russell Wilson.