Amid his disastrous UNC coaching debut, it’s emerged that Bill Belichick at some point made the call to ban Patriots scouts from North Carolina practices.
In his first game coaching the Tar Heels, Belichick saw his team humiliated 48-14 by TCU.
And days after that loss on Monday, John Middlekauff reported on his podcast that Belichick doesn’t want his ex-franchise – where he was ousted from after 24 seasons last year – watching his players up close.
Middlekauff called the decision ‘funny but also kind of embarrassing’ as he questioned the strange move.
‘… People get fired. But to ban the New England Patriots, that’s like an eff you to Robert Kraft. Guess what Robert Kraft’s not doing? Ever making a school call in the history of his life. He’s never going to any of these universities. It’s just some random kid, some random guy that works for Eliot Wolf going to the school.’
The Boston Herald, however, added that UNC will still provide the Patriotswith film on Tar Heels players if requested.
Of course, it was Kraft’s call as owner from the Patriots to move on from Belichick after 24 seasons.
Bill Belichick watched on from the sideline as the Tar Heels lost to TCU by 34 points on Monday
Belichick has reportedly banned Robert Kraft’s Patriots from scouting his UNC players at practice
And while Belichick won six Super Bowls there with Kraft as his boss, there are clearly some hard feelings nearly two years later.
When he was out of work last year, Belichick had some harsh words for his ex-team following a 3-10 start under his (eventually fired) successor Jerod Mayo.
‘Just haven’t done enough to win very many games on any level,’ Belichick said on the ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast. ‘They’ve had trouble on defense. One of the last ranked teams on offense, if not the bottom ranked. Missed some key field goals and some kicking plays as well. So, I’d say all three areas of the game just haven’t been good enough to win.’
More recently, he had some more pointed criticism for the operational structure in New England.
Speaking to the Boston Globe, Belichick said his current operation in North Carolina was ‘much more cohesive’ than things were in New England, saying his most successful years with the Patriots came with ‘fewer people and more of a direct vision.’
Belichick had a nightmare debut as head coach of UNC after months of anticipation
TCU had 542 yards of total offense as Belichick’s defense were torched at home
‘It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it,’ Belichick told the Globe of UNC. ‘It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way.’
He continued: ‘There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son, there’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level,’ Belichick said.
‘Generic NFL teams, you have the owner, president, general manager, personnel director, college director, pro director, cap guy, some other consultant, then head coach. I’d say when we had our best years in New England, we had fewer people and more of a direct vision. And as that expanded, it became harder to be successful.’
While that may be true, it didn’t stop Belichick’s Tar Heels from getting trounced in their first game – in front of their home fans no less.
And he was roundly ripped by fans following the 34-point loss.
Belichick and his team will hope to bounce back this weekend at Charlotte.
