As learned in September, former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick officially banned New England Patriots scouts from attending North Carolina practices.
NFL scouts had reportedly already had a tough time dealing with UNC in its new era under the former Patriots head coach. The Tar Heels hired Belichick in December 2024 after parting ways with the Patriots. Since then, scouts have faced obstacles when it comes to scouting UNC players, with it now being confirmed that Belichick had banned Patriots scouts from attending his practices.
The decision first became public following Belichick’s season-opening debut with the Tar Heels in a disastrous 48-14 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs, which took place at UNC’s own Chapel Hill, N.C.
Is UNC, Belichick’s Approach Leading to Player Fallout?
In the midst of the ban, UNC’s cornerbacks Thaddeus Dixon and Marcus Allen are projected to hear their names called for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.
A recent edition of The Sports Gossip Show discussed the ban and how Belichick’s actions are impacting his Tar Heels roster.
“Another example of UNC football that is overseen by Bill Belichick making a poor choice PR wise, that hurts his own players, alumni of the program and the school,” co-host Madeline Hill said on Tuesday’s edition of the show.
The former Patriots head coach was able to turn things around in Week 2 for the Tar Heels, capturing a 20-3 win on the road against Charlotte. Postgame, he said the reason for the Patriots’ scouts ban was because he’s not currently welcome at the New England facility.
“It’s clear I’m not welcome around their facility,” Belichick previously said. “So they aren’t welcome at ours. It’s pretty simple.”
Patriots’ current head coach Mike Vrabel has since refuted Belichick’s claims. Vrabel said that Belichick is welcome in New England.
Hill went on to say that Belichick’s attitude has been confirmed to have had serious, negative ramifications across the UNC program.
“A source with first-hand knowledge of the program told WRAL that [UNC] is an unstructured mess and that there is no culture, no organization and that it is a complete disaster. And then a parent of a current UNC player said that the boys are [the ones] being affected, the players,” Hill also said. “Bill Belichick’s decisions are affecting his own players and his staff and the university.
Both UNC quarterbacks, Max Johnson and Gio Lopez, currently see C- grades in PFSN’s CFB QB Impact metric. The Tar Heels currently have a 2-3 overall record under Belichick.
Dixon and Allen can only hope that Belichick’s actions with New England scouts, in particular, improve and/or don’t have any negative repercussions for a future career in the league.