Vrabel: Belichick still welcome at Patriots' facility

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel believes that Bill Belichick is still welcome at the NFL team's facility after the future Hall of Famer banned Patriots scouts from North Carolina's practices.

"Nothing surprises me," Vrabel said Monday on "The Greg Hill Show," according to WEEI's Tom Carroll. "I would imagine that Bill - I mean, he came back for, the best of my knowledge, Tom's (Patriots Hall of Fame) ceremony. So I guess he's welcome back, based on the fact that he was there. ...

"Since his departure as the head coach here, he's been back. And I'll leave it at that."

Tom Brady's Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony, which Belichick spoke at, was held at Gillette Stadium in June 2024.

Belichick guided New England to six Super Bowl titles over a historic span of 24 seasons. The 73-year-old coach has a strained relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft after their split in January 2024. Belichick sat out the 2024 NFL season and is making his collegiate coaching debut with North Carolina this season.

Belichick confirmed the report that UNC won't allow Patriots personnel to scout Tar Heels practices.

"It's clear that I'm not welcome there around their facility. So they're not welcome at ours. Pretty simple," Belichick told reporters Saturday, per Fox College Football.

Belichick's issue is more about being treated with respect than his physical presence at the facility, a source told ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Kraft said last week that he'd like to build a statue of Belichick next to the statue of Brady outside Gillette Stadium once his coaching career is over.

Vrabel said that New England will have to find alternative methods to view Tar Heels players, but he wants to stay focused on his NFL roster.

"(I) wanna focus on our football team, and that's their prerogative to make the decisions that they feel like are best for them," Vrabel said, per Carroll.