Belichick’s Fallout With Robert Kraft at Center of Patriots Scout Ban

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jay Canale | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 6:00 AM ET

Bill Belichick has been a regular fixture in sports news lately due to various reasons, including news about his girlfriend Jordan Hudson, his new coaching position at the University of North Carolina, and his 48-14 loss to TCU last week.

As if those weren't enough already, a new controversy involving Belichick surfaced earlier this week. Belichick and UNC’s GM, Michael Lombardi, have banned Patriots scouts from attending Tar Heel practices.

A new wrinkle to that story has emerged, courtesy of The Athletic’s Dianna Russini: this ban isn’t because Belichick holds bad blood with his former team or its new staff, but because of a rift between Belichick and the Patriots’ owner, Robert Kraft.

“Belichick, I’m told, has no issue with his former linebacker Mike Vrabel, now the Patriots’ head coach, or with New England executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. This is all about his feelings toward his former bosses, Robert and Jonathan Kraft.” Russini wrote.

Belichick and Kraft worked together to build a dynasty in New England, winning 266 regular-season games, 30 playoff games, and six Super Bowls together. Few owner-head coach duos rival their 23-year stretch of consistent success in league history, so it's surprising and disappointing to hear that they now harbor this level of dislike for each other.

Based on a quote Russini obtained from someone inside UNC’s building, some of this bad blood stems from Kraft’s decision to fire Belichick in 2023. Initially, Kraft called the parting amicable, but later comments from the Patriots owner blamed Belichick for the team’s struggles after Tom Brady’s departure.

“I had given him so much power,” Kraft said. “He had full control over everything, and shame on me, I should have had some checks and balances better. But, he had earned that right. But then the results weren’t there and if you’re in the sports business you win or you lose, there’s no gray and I hate losing.” Kraft explained on The Breakfast Club.

These comments seem to be a contributing factor to the restrictions imposed on Patriots scouts by Belichick and UNC. A quote from Russini’s article further supports this idea:

“Why would we let (Patriots staffers) in our home after how he’s been treated since he left?” a Carolina source said. “They get all our tape (and) can call our staff for player info.

This petty back-and-forth between the pair is disappointing. After watching their teams dominate the NFL throughout the 21st century, one would hope they could put their differences aside and maintain a friendly relationship, but that clearly isn’t the case.

Belichick further stoked this drama in a comment Saturday evening, saying, "It's clear I'm not welcome there at their facility. So they're not welcome at ours."

Ultimately, worrying about trading shots with Kraft should be low on Belichick’s priority list, given the state of his new team. He signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Tar Heels and needs a complete turnaround to make good on their investment. Hopefully for him, that started with their win over Charlotte Saturday night, but they still have a long, long way to go.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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