Amid North Carolina's 1-1 start to the 2025 season, new head coach Bill Belichick has found himself in a bit of a spat with his former employer.

After the Tar Heels were dismantled 48-14 in a season-opening loss to TCU, reports surfaced that Belichick had barred scouts for the New England Patriots from visiting North Carolina's facilities. Belichick himself later confirmed those rumors, giving a terse explanation for the decision.

"It's clear I'm not welcome there at their facility," Belichick said last week. "So, they're not welcome at ours. It’s pretty simple.”

That seemed like the end of it, but on Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made things even more interesting by seemingly refuting that point by noting Belichick was present when New England retired Tom Brady's jersey last year.

"Nothing surprises me," Vrabel said. "I would imagine that Bill, he came back for... Tom (Brady's) ceremony. So I guess he's welcome back based on the fact that he was there... I'll leave it at that."

It's clear there's still some bad blood between Belichick and his former team, which he coached for 24 seasons in a tenure that resulted in six Super Bowl titles before he was unceremoniously fired following the 2023 season.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Patriots' Mike Vrabel fires back at Bill Belichick, says he's welcome at facility

Reporting by Tyler Nettuno, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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