Why Bill Belichick’s Stubbornness Could Damage UNC Football

If you thought the media onslaught toward Bill Belichick and North Carolina was over, the news that the program has banned scouts from the New England Patriots has only extended it.

It was first reported by John Middlekauff of the “3 and Out Podcast” and was confirmed by local and national media outlets. On Friday, current Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, one of Belichick’s former players, addressed the situation in a press conference with reporters.

“That’s an individual choice and we’ll cross that bridge when we start looking at players,” Vrabel said. “I’m going to focus on our football team. That’s their prerogative to make the decision that they feel like is best for them and then we’ll have to find out the ways to get the information for any players that we want to look at from North Carolina.”

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated joined the Boston sports radio show Toucher and Hardy on 98.5 The Sports Hub to discuss the situation on Friday.

Breer Compares How Belichick and Saban Handle NFL Scouts

UNC — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick chats with Alabama head coach Nick Saban during Pro Day on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday March 19, 2019. | Mickey Welsh / Advertiser

When it comes to handling NFL scouts, the contrast between Nick Saban and Bill Belichick couldn’t be sharper.

Belichick, new to the college coaching ranks, doesn’t seem to grasp how crucial a program’s relationship with NFL scouts can be. The better you treat scouts, the more likely they are to return—and the more often they return, the greater the chance one of your players will be recognized as a draft prospect.

While Belichick remains stubborn on this front, Nick Saban consistently welcomed scouts into his Alabama program, understanding the long-term benefits.

“I mean, when I tell you Nick Saban treated NFL scouts like gold, I mean it,” Breer said. “I would hear stories from scouts about when they did school calls to Alabama, they go to the pro day at Alabama, about the spread that was put out for them. You know, I mean they were treated like royalty when they came in, and that was for a very real intention. Selfish reason.

“It’s intentional. It’s because Nick knows the more guys he sends to the pros, the more guys that – the more players that go to the NFL out of his program, the more first-round picks he has. You know what becomes a lot easier? Recruiting. It’s convincing the next first-round pick to come.”

That difference in philosophy, Breer added, underscores the way Saban embraced the unique demands of being a college head coach. Where Belichick still has the philosophies from being a pro football coach and keeping everything in the program, Saban was a master of selling his program — not only to scouts but also to recruits and their families. The better

“And that’s the thing that kills me,” Breer continued. “Like I watch it, and I’m like, what are you doing? Like it’s more important for you to settle a score. They were giving that blank depth chart to scouts. That’s another example of how it’s a different job.”

Breer also mentioned Saban’s clothing style. compared to Belichick’s. While this is a minor detail and not a major one, a coach’s appearance is important when you are trying to recruit high school kid, especially when the parents are involved.

“Have you ever seen Nick Saban in a ratty sweatshirt? No. People act like Nick and Bill are the same guy. In a lot of ways, they are. But like Nick — anytime Nick was in public as Alabama’s head coach, he was in like a blazer.

“You saw him at the spring game, right? He would be on the sidelines in a blazer. Why is that? Because there are 25 16-year-old, 17-year-old kids there with their moms and dads. And he’s got to convince those moms and dads that this is the guy that I want to send my kid off to.”

Breer Says that Belichick’s Actions Will Hurt Current Players

UNC — Sep 1, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick with a recruit before the game at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Breer aslo mentioned the ramifications of the limited access that NFL scouts have with UNC. Breer then read off a text he got from an unnamed pro scouting director about the situation:

“Again, nobody is mad at UNC about being a crappy visit. They don’t have players. They aren’t talented. The only people who are — the only people who are going to suffer — are 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 just late-round/UDFA (undrafted free agent) types, we just move on to another guy with a similar skill set that we know more about.”

Breer then explained the source’s in layman’s terms.

“So if I don’t have enough background on a guy at North Carolina who’s, like, a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent, I’m just going to go to the kid at NC State,” Breer said. “If I know more about the kid over here because I couldn’t get background in North Carolina, I know more about the kid at NC State or more about the kid at Duke, I’m just going to sign that guy.”

Breer noted this isn’t a new phenomenon. Certain programs historically limited access to scouts, from Joe Paterno’s Penn State to Greg Schiano’s Rutgers, which affected late-round and undrafted prospects. But the stakes are particularly high for players at schools like UNC, where many athletes still hope to make the NFL.

“Even though North Carolina is not Texas or Ohio State or USC, right, if you’re good enough to play there, you think you’ve got a shot at the NFL,” Breer said. “Any athlete good enough to play at the FBS level was so good in high school that he thinks he’s got at least a shot. And it’s going to be a priority to him to go to a place that he thinks is going to give him every possible chance — every chance to make it to the NFL.

“And I’ll just tell you, my experience with the Ohio State people — they’re not the most open place either. But when you walk into the building there, one of the first things you see is 32 helmets. And underneath each of the helmets is this long list of players from Ohio State who played for that team. I mean, it’s all over the place. They want to be NFLU.

“Where, you know, Mike Lombardi is running around calling themselves the 33rd team, like a school like Ohio State actually is. But it’s a huge part of getting kids to go to a school. You should at least get a shot. And your school and your coach should be doing everything.”

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