Patriots will find ‘other ways’ to scout UNC after Bill Belichick’s move

The Patriots are not worried about Bill Belichick’s pettiness.

In response to the legendary former NFL coach banning Patriots scouts from attending practices at the University of North Carolina, current New England coach Mike Vrabel insists that his team will find other methods to keep its eyes on Tar Heels players.

“That’s an individual choice,” Vrabel told reporters during a press conference Friday. “And we’ll cross that bridge when we start looking at players. Wanna focus on our football team, and that’s their prerogative to make the decisions that they feel like are best for them.

“And then we’ll have to find other ways to get the information for any players that we want to look at in North Carolina.”

The “3 and Out” podcast reported Thursday that Belichick, who saw his Tar Heels lose in a blowout to TCU to open the season on Monday night, barred scouts from his old team.

“If you’re a scout for the New England Patriots, you are not allowed at the University of North Carolina — which is funny, but kind of embarrassing,” host John Middlekauff quipped.

Additionally, other teams have had difficulty scouting North Carolina’s players since Belichick took over the reins, as the program has directed NFL organizations to its assistant director of player personnel/pro liaison Frantzy Jourdain with prospect-related questions, per The Athletic.

According to the outlet, North Carolina’s ban on Patriots scouts is related to Belichick’s history with the franchise.

“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,” a source from UNC told The Athletic. “We will help our players, but being treated fairly is a two-way street.”

Belichick has also been under fire for handing out blank depth charts to the media ahead of the TCU game, listing just positions without player names.