"This is an incredibly petty move that is also actively unfair to the actual college athletes on his team. Part of being a good college recruiter and coach is about convincing players that you and your staff will do everything in your power to get them to the next level. Fully barring one of those 32 potential future employers from getting a closer look at your players only shrinks those players' professional prospects. On top of that, Belichick's UNC only offers limited facility access to the scouts of the other 31 teams as well. To say the quiet part out loud, neither Belichick nor this team are good enough to be pulling stunts like this."
"For the Patriots' part, head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the situation on Monday and said that, as far as he knows, Belichick is absolutely welcome to the facilities in Foxboro. "Bill came back for, to the best of my knowledge, Tom's ceremony," Vrabel said in a radio interview, referring to Belichick showing up to Tom Brady's Patriot Hall of Fame induction back in June 2024. "So I guess he's welcomed back based on the fact he was there... since his departure as the head coach here, he's been back. I'll leave it at that.""
Bill Belichick banned New England Patriots scouts from North Carolina facilities and publicly confirmed the ban, saying he is not welcome there. The ban restricts scout access to UNC players and reduces their exposure to NFL teams, shrinking professional prospects for student-athletes. UNC also offers limited facility access to scouts from the other 31 NFL teams, compounding access issues. The move appears petty and retaliatory amid UNC's on-field struggles. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said Belichick has been welcomed back to Foxboro for events and left the matter at that.
Read at Defector
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]