Issues will not be off to a fantastic begin for Invoice Belichick on the College of North Carolina. Not solely did his group get blown out in his school soccer teaching debut in opposition to TCU on Monday, however he’s additionally working the danger of turning into a nationwide punchline as his popularity continues to take hits.
The newest hit is an unforced PR blunder that reveals pettiness.
Patriots scouts reportedly banned from UNC practices
Phrase first surfaced on Thursday that North Carolina has reportedly banned scouts from the NFL’s New England Patriots from scouting the group’s practices, with a supply telling the Boston Herald, “Why would we allow them to in our residence after how he’s been handled since he left?”
Regardless of successful six Tremendous Bowls in New England, Belichick’s relationship with the Patriots has grown more and more frosty ever for the reason that two sides parted methods following the 2023 season. Even from the very starting, Belichick didn’t appear proud of the method that noticed him go away the group, and there actually has not been a lot between the 2 sides ever since.
Belichick has all the time performed the function of cantankerous outdated man very effectively, and he appeared like the kind of one who might maintain a grudge, particularly if he felt bridges had been burned. That appears to be what is occurring right here by shutting out the scouts of the group he coached for greater than 20 years and received a number of championships with.
What makes it worse is there may be truly no profit right here for anyone in Belichick’s present job. That is purely about ego and getting even with a franchise that he clearly feels has wronged him.
The principle motive Belichick ought to need Patriots scouts round — in addition to scouts from every other group — is to provide his present gamers, those preventing for their very own NFL future, as many alternatives as they will get.
Shutting out any of them is simply doing a disservice to harmless school gamers who had no function within the rising beef between Belichick and the Patriots. It’s petty. It’s egocentric. It’s one other instance of how Belichick is barely hurting his once-proud head-coaching popularity.
