{"id":201336,"date":"2025-09-05T04:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/201336\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T04:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:10:10","slug":"bill-belichick-bans-patriots-limits-other-nfl-scouts-from-viewing-unc-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/201336\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Belichick bans Patriots, limits other NFL scouts from viewing UNC practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Howe, Bruce Feldman, Chad Graff and Sam Khan Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s been another twist in the messy split between head coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n

Belichick, now the head coach at the University of North Carolina, has turned the Patriots away from a Tar Heels practice, according to league sources. The Patriots attempted to send a member of the scouting department to visit UNC in August, but North Carolina told the Patriots they were not permitted to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so petty,\u201d a scout from a different NFL team told The Athletic.<\/p>\n

According to a league source, the Patriots had planned to send a scout who was a graduate of NC State. The scout thought that was the reason UNC wouldn\u2019t allow him to attend practice, the source said. However, a UNC source confirmed that Belichick\u2019s history with the Patriots led to the policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would we let them in our home after how he\u2019s been treated since he left? They get all our tape (and) can call our staff for player info,\u201d the Carolina source said. \u201cWe will help our players, but being treated fairly is a two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots haven\u2019t attempted to visit UNC since. They also didn\u2019t plan to send a scout Monday night to watch North Carolina\u2019s 48-14 loss to TCU<\/a> in the season opener.<\/p>\n

Other teams have been allowed to scout UNC\u2019s practices, the sources said. However, the Tar Heels have increased restrictions on scouts since Belichick arrived this year. Scouts from other teams told The Athletic their viewing window was limited to the opening three periods of practice, which includes stretching. (Most college football practices have between 20 and 28 periods.)<\/p>\n

Additionally, UNC has directed NFL teams to solely go through assistant director of player personnel\/pro liaison Frantzy Jourdain with questions about draft prospects, the sources said. NFL teams have been told not to contact members of the coaching staff or anyone else on campus about draft prospects. The teams didn\u2019t know if there would be repercussions if they violated UNC\u2019s protocols, but they believed access could be further restricted.<\/p>\n

UNC did not respond to multiple messages for comment.<\/p>\n

Neither Belichick nor North Carolina is violating any NCAA rules by refusing to permit a team to watch any portions of practice.<\/p>\n

However, NFL teams have been frustrated by the lack of access, even if they\u2019ve encountered similar roadblocks in the past with other coaches or programs. Former coaches Urban Meyer and Bobby Petrino were notoriously difficult with NFL scouts on such visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt only hurts the players,\u201d another scout said.<\/p>\n

One NFL executive said they won\u2019t draft a player if they can\u2019t obtain a complete evaluation, and if they have questions about a player\u2019s character but the coaching staff isn\u2019t available to answer questions about that player, the team will take him off its draft board. Similarly, as teams rush to sign undrafted free agents, they\u2019re typically going to target players they are more familiar with from the scouting process.<\/p>\n

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban welcomed NFL scouts to practice because he wanted to help their draft stock as much as possible. Saban also believed it helped his team because players practiced harder when scouts were in attendance.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why teams believe, if Belichick doesn\u2019t start winning, this policy will hurt his program. Generally speaking, players are there to prepare for the NFL and maximize NIL earnings. If they don\u2019t believe they\u2019re given a fair shake with all 32 teams\u2019 scouting departments, it could sting Belichick\u2019s recruiting efforts. \u2014 Jeff Howe, NFL insider<\/p>\n

What does scouting access look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Access is hot and cold depending on which colleges a scout may visit. Coaches, especially college coaches, can be very paranoid, but from the NFL scouts I\u2019ve talked to, the access is actually a little better than it used to be. Alabama hasn\u2019t just been the gold standard for success on the field, but also for accommodating NFL scouts, who are happy about how Saban\u2019s successor, Kalen DeBoer, has handled things \u2014 at least for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeBoer kept the same policies for us,\u201d said one longtime scout who covers the entire country for an NFL team, \u201cmeaning from their first day of practice until their last bowl practice, you have unlimited access. You can go in there for four days straight, be at practice every single day. I\u2019d be sitting in the linebacker meeting room watching film and the playbook is sitting right next to me. Saban didn\u2019t care. You were able to talk to their (NFL) liaison every day. You got to talk to the strength coach every day. It was unlimited access to coaches during the day when they weren\u2019t in meetings. You could stay there all day long, with unlimited access, and they fed you three meals a day.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorgia (and) Florida are the same way, wide open. Texas is really good. Lane (Kiffin)\u2019s great. You can go in there (Ole Miss) whenever you want. Almost anybody who comes from the Saban (coaching) tree is wide open. Mario (Cristobal) is the only one not that way. There are a lot of Big Ten schools that are great too \u2014 Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cRutgers historically has been terrible for access. \u2026 Oklahoma is bad. \u2026 But the worst for me are Florida State and Miami. It makes my job difficult.\u201d \u2014 Bruce Feldman, CFB insisder<\/p>\n

Belichick\u2019s relationship with Kraft, Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n

The relationship between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft grew sour toward the end of Belichick\u2019s 24-year run with the team, but became especially bitter after their split.<\/p>\n

Initially, they tried to hide the frosty feelings. They held a joint press conference in January 2024 when they announced what they called a \u201cmutual\u201d parting of ways. Kraft called Belichick \u201cthe greatest coach of all time,\u201d and the coach thanked Kraft.<\/p>\n

However, Belichick turned more openly sour after Kraft called their split a firing on a radio interview \u2014 not the \u201cmutual\u201d term they agreed on \u2014 and a 10-part Apple TV documentary painted Belichick in a bad light.<\/p>\n

Since then, the coach hasn\u2019t concealed his frustrations and poor feelings toward his former boss and the franchise he owns, shooing away multiple attempted olive branches.<\/p>\n

When Kraft was asked on a podcast this summer for the best move he made as an owner, he pointed toward the hiring of Belichick but called it a \u201cbig risk\u201d and added that he \u201cgot hammered in the Boston media\u201d at the time. It seemed to be a compliment toward Belichick, an attempt at mending their relationship. However, Belichick focused on the \u201crisk\u201d part of the quote and aired his grievances to ESPN, insisting it was he who actually took the big risk.<\/p>\n

Last week, Belichick told The Boston Globe that one of the joys of coaching in college was that \u201cthere\u2019s no owner, there\u2019s no owner\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the latest news comes one day after Kraft told WBZ-TV in Boston that he hopes to put a statue of Belichick next to the newly unveiled statue of Tom Brady once Belichick retires from coaching.<\/p>\n

However, it doesn\u2019t look like the relationship will smooth out. Belichick has always been petty and fueled by revenge, and that doesn\u2019t seem to be swaying his feelings toward the Patriots any time soon. \u2014 Chad Graff, Patriots senior writer<\/p>\n

UNC\u2019s roster<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belichick\u2019s first North Carolina team isn\u2019t dripping with NFL-ready talent. That much was clear from watching the Tar Heels get their doors blown off Monday night by TCU. A Power 4 personnel director estimated that the number of legitimate draftable prospects on Belichick\u2019s current roster is less than five.<\/p>\n

Cornerbacks Thaddeus Dixon, who followed defensive coordinator Steve Belichick from Washington to North Carolina, and Marcus Allen are the most intriguing of the bunch. Both ranked among the top 20 senior corners in Dane Brugler\u2019s 2026 NFL Draft summer positional rankings<\/a>. One NFL scout called Dixon the only surefire draftable guy at this point.<\/p>\n

Khmori House, a linebacker who also made the Washington-to-UNC trek, is a true sophomore who has flashed potential. House was No. 66 in The Athletic\u2019s Preseason Transfer 100<\/a>. Right guard Daniel King was the only other prospect to land in Brugler\u2019s 2026 projections, ranking 16th among senior interior offensive linemen.<\/p>\n

North Carolina underwent a major roster overhaul after Belichick\u2019s hiring, which is typical in modern college football. The Tar Heels took in 70 newcomers, including 40 transfers and 30 true freshmen. Because college football\u2019s transfer portal window opened three days before Belichick\u2019s official hiring on Dec. 12, he and general manager Michael Lombardi had to play catch-up.<\/p>\n

College football personnel staffs spend the bulk of the calendar year recruiting high school prospects and scouting other rosters well before December to decide who to target in the transfer portal. Belichick and Lombardi didn\u2019t have that advantage, making it harder to be competitive and acquire elite portal prospects. As they settle into the job for Year 2, chances are they\u2019ll be more prepared to load up the roster with better talent for 2026. \u2014 Sam Khan Jr., college football senior writer<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brendan Marks and Dianna Russini contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jeff Howe, Bruce Feldman, Chad Graff and Sam Khan Jr. There\u2019s been another twist in the messy…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":201337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1428,51,533,50,1232,3910,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-201336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-north-carolina-tar-heels","14":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115149735557444253","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}