The New England Patriots might have some trouble scouting North Carolina players for as long as Bill Belichick is the head coach of the Tar Heels, but Mike Vrabel says he is not stressing over the lack of access.
Reports surfaced on Thursday that Belichick has banned Patriots scouts and staffers from attending UNC practices to watch players in person. One source at the school told the Boston Herald that the decision was made in response to how Belichick has been treated since the coach was pushed out of New England two years ago.
Vrabel was asked on Friday if he is concerned about not being able to send scouts to UNC. He downplayed the restriction.
“That’s an individual choice, and we’ll cross that bridge when we start looking at players,” Vrabel said. “I’m gonna focus on our football team, and that’s their prerogative to make the decisions that they feel like are best for them. We’ll have to find other ways to get the information for any players that we want to look at at North Carolina.”
Mike Vrabel’s Friday press conference opens with a question about Bill Belichick banning Patriot scouts from UNC practice:
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) September 5, 2025
“That's an individual choice. And we'll cross that bridge when we start looking at players. Wanna focus on our football team, and that's their prerogative… pic.twitter.com/Ao6CwG8JJk
Patriots scouts will reportedly still be able to receive film on North Carolina players and request information from Tar Heels staffers, which will likely suffice.
There has been serious tension between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft since the two parted ways following the 2023 season. Things appear to have gotten worse after the way Belichick was portrayed in the AppleTV+ docuseries “The Dynasty,” which was released last year. Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, was painted in a negative light in the documentary. Kraft has denied having any editorial input or control, but each episode ended with a message that said “Copyright Kraft Dynasty LLC.”
Belichick has since taken some public shots at Kraft. The 84-year-old is hopeful the issues will be resolved one day and would like to honor Belichick in a similar way to how the Patriots recently honored Tom Brady.
Belichick is known for being petty and holding grudges, and Vrabel will now have to navigate that in his new job.
