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Mike Vrabel’s former boss implemented a bizarre barrier to the New England Patriots.
Bill Belichick apparently has no desire to turn his college program into a pipeline for his longtime NFL organization. The legendary head coach reportedly banned Patriots scouts from attending North Carolina practices.
Vrabel won three Super Bowls in his eight seasons playing under Belichick in New England. The new Patriots head coach responded to Belichick’s maneuver on Friday, per WEEI’s Tom Carroll.
“That’s an individual choice, and we’ll cross that bridge when we start looking at players,” Vrabel said. “Want to focus on our football team, and that’s their prerogative to make the decisions that they feel like are best for them. And then we’ll have to find other ways to get the information for any players that we want to look at in North Carolina.”
Belichick has expressed the goal of turning UNC into an NFL-style program. The 73-year-old’s winning reputation could help him attract top recruits to Chapel Hill, so losing access to the ACC school’s practices is far from insignificant.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is among the notable Tar Heels to join the NFL before Belichick’s arrival. It’ll be a lot harder to scout another potential first-round pick in North Carolina now.
The Athletic reported that North Carolina turned away a Patriots scout who attempted to attend a UNC practice in August. Although Belichick has allowed other NFL teams to send scouts, he’s allegedly frustrated the league with increased restrictions.
A source within the UNC program blamed an unceremonious split between Belichick and New England as the reason behind the controversial scouting ban.
“Why would we let them in our home after how he’s been treated since he left? They get all our tape (and) can call our staff for player info,” the Carolina source told The Athletic. “We will help our players, but being treated fairly is a two-way street.”
Vrabel took the high road and avoided any public drama as he prepares to make his Patriots head coaching debut this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
