Bill Belichick has been on the job at North Carolina for months, and he is already picking a fight with his old team. Multiple sources say UNC told the New England Patriots their staff is not welcome around the Tar Heels right now. The message landed the day before a Pats scout planned to visit in August. Timing says everything.
Team officials did not offer much warmth. When reached by ESPN, UNC football GM Michael Lombardi said “Good luck,” then ended the call. The school declined further comment. That is not subtle.
What changed in Chapel Hill?
Under Belichick, NFL access in Chapel Hill is tight. Scouts are told to speak only with pro liaison Frantzy Jourdain. The program’s college relations page, which NFL personnel can view, repeats the phrase “zero access” to coaches or other staff. Scouts say they can watch only three practice periods. Most schools let scouts watch full sessions, or close to it. One veteran evaluator put it simply: he could not name another program that spells out zero access in writing.
Belichick spent 24 seasons coaching the Patriots, a run that ended after the 2023 campaign. Now he is drawing a hard line with the franchise that defined his career. Petty or principled, you decide. It certainly sends a message to every club that wants a deeper look at UNC players.
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The fallout matters. New England will have to work around the ban and lean on game tape, public data, and whatever can be gathered through Jourdain. Other teams will face the same guardrails. Relationships often drive draft intel, and UNC just cut those channels down to a trickle.
The first word of the shutdown surfaced on the 3 & Out podcast with John Middlekauff. The tone in Chapel Hill did the rest. This is Belichick’s program, and the door is shut until he says otherwise.
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