Bill Belichick Bans Patriots Scouts from UNC Practices

Bill Belichick has officially banned New England Patriots scouts from attending UNC practices.

NFL scouts have reportedly had a tough time in general when it comes to dealing with North Carolina in its new era under the former Patriots' head coach. Scouts have faced obstacles when it comes to scouting UNC players — and now it had been confirmed that Belichick has banned Patriots scouts from attending his practices.

The development was first reported by John Middlekauff on his 3 and Out podcast.

If you're a scout for the New England Patriots, you are not allowed at the University of North Carolina," Middlekauff said on the podcast."Which is funny, but kind of embarrassing."

Bill Belichick has banned #Patriots scouts from attending UNC practices to scout their players, as @JohnMiddlekauff reported on his show.

NFL scouts in general have faced hurdles scouting UNC players so far under Belichick’s tenure at North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/2Ea6KJq0iN
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 4, 2025

Belichick's Trouble with NFL Scouts So Far

This decision was made available to the public following Belichick's season opening debut with the Tar Heels in a disastrous 48-14 loss to TCU, which took place at UNC's own Chapel Hill, N.C..

North Carolina scored on its first drive before TCU scored the next 41 points.

Belichick's trouble with scouts has been reported as early as that very game, with Pete Thamel of ESPN noting that NFL talent evaluators came mostly and/or strictly to watch TCU.

He reported that there were over 20 NFL scouts from 14 teams at the matchup against the Horned Frogs, but that they simply didn't have a lot of talent to scout on the UNC roster.

UNC has a talent deficit. There’s more than 20 NFL scouts from 14 teams here, but not many Heels for them to watch. One told me pregame that this game loomed as a huge opportunity for TCU’s Josh Hoover against Belichick family defense. Hoover has been impressive so far. pic.twitter.com/3hf78pWFTX
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 2, 2025

Throughout the game and even beforehand, Belichick had taken restrictive actions against the NFL scouts — providing them with a blank depth chart that only listed positions.

Belichick has been known to be very curt with media and disclosed as little as possible even throughout his career as an NFL coach. It doesn’t appear as if anything has changed or will change as he gets off on his collegiate coaching career.

However, UNC's cornerbacks Thaddeus Dixon and Marcus Allen are projected to hear their names called for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft; these two players can only hope that Belichick's actions with scouts don't have any negative repercussions for a future career in the league.

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