NFL Exec Rips UNC as 'S--ty Visit' After Bill Belichick Bans Patriots, 'Nobody Is Mad'

To hear one NFL executive put it, North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick banning the New England Patriots from his team's facilities and being less than welcoming to other teams around the league is going to hurt his own players more than anyone else.

"Nobody is mad about UNC being a s--ty visit," an AFC scouting director told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "They don't have players. They aren't talented.

"The only people who are gonna suffer is the UNC seniors who may be late-round guys or undrafted [free agents]. When we don't have ample background on guys, and they are late round/UDFA types, we just move on to another guy with similar skill that we know more about."

On Thursday, ESPN's Kalyn Kahler reported North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi and Tar Heels pro liaison Frantzy Jourdain told members of the Patriots they were banned from the ACC team's facilities just one day before they were scheduled to visit.

Two other NFL scouts said Belichick's program limits access to NFL personnel far more than most college programs.

The report became a major storyline given Belichick's history as the former head coach of the Patriots, and current New England head coach Mike Vrabel was even asked about it.

"That's an individual choice and we'll cross that bridge when we start looking at players," Vrabel said, per Kahler. "I'm going to focus on our football team. That's their prerogative to make the decisions that they feel like are the 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."

As for Belichick, he told reporters, "It's clear I'm not welcome there at their facility. So they're not welcome at ours."

The Athletic's Jeff Howe, Bruce Feldman, Chad Graff and Sam Khan Jr. cited an anonymous North Carolina source who said, "Why would we let them in our home after how he's been treated since he left? They get all our tape (and) can call our staff for player info. We will help our players, but being treated fairly is a two-way street."

Belichick won six Super Bowls with the Patriots and is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.

However, his relationship with New England CEO Robert Kraft has seemed icy at times and has been consistently scrutinized since they went their separate ways. The latest back-and-forth between North Carolina and the Patriots is only going to fan the flames.

Unfortunately, some of the current Tar Heels players may pay the biggest price for it.

It makes sense from a scout's perspective that they would lean toward a player they've visited and know more about when making a draft decision if all else is equal between two prospects. And North Carolina limiting visits and access from NFL personnel is only going to prevent some of its potential draftees from making a better impression on those scouts.

The Tar Heels didn't seem to have many NFL prospects during their season-opening loss to TCU, but they bounced back Saturday with a win over Charlotte and will look to keep the momentum rolling in the upcoming contest against Richmond.