Bill Belichick, UNC Reportedly Ban Patriots Staff, Limit Access for NFL Scouts

Bill Belichick reportedly isn't interested in hosting his former team at the University of North Carolina.

ESPN's Kalyn Kahler reported Thursday that the New England Patriots were scheduled to send scouts to North Carolina last month only to be told by Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi and pro liaison Frantzy Jourdain they were banned one day prior to their trip.

Kahler cited two other NFL scouts who said Belichick's program limits access to all NFL personnel.

The scouts said teams can only speak to Jourdain and that North Carolina's college relations website—which is only accessible to NFL personnel—says the term "zero access" three different times.

"Can't think of another school with a statement of 'zero access,'" one scout said.

That Belichick would be secretive with so many closed-doors policy should come as no surprise to anyone who followed his NFL career. After all, he was famously tight-lipped with the media as the head coach of the Patriots and surely doesn't love the idea of people not involved with the team being around practice.

New England specifically being banned is notable, though, as Belichick's relationship with Patriots CEO Robert Kraft has been heavily scrutinized and seemingly icy since the head coach's tenure ended with the AFC East team.

Still, Kraft said Wednesday he would like to commission a Belichick statue to be placed next to the one of Tom Brady outside the Patriots' stadium, per Matt Geagan and Dan Roche of CBS Boston.

Perhaps that will one day go a long way toward healing their relationship, but Belichick reportedly has no interest in the team he won six Super Bowls with being around his new position.

Frankly, NFL teams might not be that interested in scouting the Tar Heels as currently constructed if their season-opening performance was any indication. They lost 48-14 on Monday against TCU in a highly anticipated contest that turned into a letdown.

There is still plenty of time to turn things around, but Belichick's college tenure got off to a rocky start.