Mike Vrabel weighs in on Bill Belichick's Patriots facility ban

The New England Patriots' feud with Bill Belichick might be a little more one-sided than he led people to believe.

The legendary head coach confirmed on Saturday that he was banning Patriots scouts from UNC's facilities, saying that since he wasn't welcome in their building, they weren't welcome at Chapel Hill, either.

However, it seems like that's not the way things have gone in Foxboro. In his weekly appearance on WEEI sports radio, new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel shut down that narrative.

"Bill came back for, to the best of my knowledge, [to] Tom's ceremony," Vrabel said, per ESPN. "So I guess he's welcomed back based on the fact he was there. I'll just go by that -- since his departure as the head coach here, he's been back. I'll leave it at that."

Vrabel is referencing the ceremony that took place in June 2024, so maybe things have gone south since. Belichick was also with Patriots owner Robert Kraft during Tom Brady's Netflix roast.

Regardless of whether Belichick is welcome in Foxboro or not, this feels like a disservice to his players. He's there to put them in the best position to succeed, and stopping one of their potential employers from scouting them doesn't do them any favors.

Belichick is a living legend who deserves all the credit in the world. But at the end of the day, his job is to lead a program that has never been known for being a football powerhouse.

UNC is a basketball school, and all the outside noise about Belichick, his relationship and his seemingly one-sided beef with the Patriots has done nothing to turn the narrative around.