By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick won six Super Bowls during nearly a quarter of a century coaching the New England Patriots, but it’s clear that relationship has deteriorated since his departure in January of 2024 leading to plenty of animosity and hard feelings.
When asked to address reports from The Athletic earlier this week that he banned a Patriots scout from attending practices at North Carolina this summer, Belichick said bluntly, “It’s clear I’m not welcomed in their facility, so they aren’t welcomed in ours.”
Then, he added, “Simple as that.”
Belichick’s comments came just minutes after he won his first game as head coach of the Tar Heels 20-3 over Charlotte on a rain-soaked afternoon in front of a record crowd of 19,233 at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
There was no fist pump after the win.
There was no Gatorade bath for Chapel Bill.
Heck, he didn’t even get a game ball from his players..
“I think if we had done that he would have looked at us like, ‘Uh yeah, been there, done that,’” Tar Heels defensive back Gavin Gibson said.
On Saturday the Tar Heels beat an inferior opponent in Charlotte, one that is 37-52 since making the leap to the FBS level a decade ago.
UNC’s win wasn’t all that impressive in nature and there is certinly plenty of room improvement, particularly on offense where the Tar Heels scored on their first possession only to go into an offensive funk for the second time in six days.
The only difference in Week 2 is they were able to get away it because Charlotte’s offense had nothing for the Heels.
But in the end it was still a win.
It was a win that helped heal some wounds from Belichick’s debut on Monday night, which ended in an embarrassing 48-14 loss to TCU in front of a who’s who or famous North Carolina sports alumni including Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor and Mia Hamm, as well as a curious national television audience on Labor Day.
Belichick spent the short week in the headlines — first drawing criticism for the loss after the school gave him a five-year, $50 million contract to turn the program around, and secondly for his decision to ban a Patriots scout from the team’s campus in Chapel Hill, one that many viewed as petty and selfish.
Of course, Belichick doesn’t care what people think about him. He never has.
He’s always done things his way, and it’s unlikely the 73-year-old is ever going to change.
He spent 24 mostly highly successful seasons with the Patriots, where he teamed with Tom Brady to reach the Super Bowl nine times, winning it all in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, and 2018. When Belichick and the Patriots split he held 333 regular-season and playoff wins, trailing only Don Shula (347) for the NFL record.
He is a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He’s won big games — and Saturday wasn’t necessarily one of them.
Wearing a white, short-sleeve overcoat with a throwback 1980s U-N-C logo on his chest along and the famous Jumpman logo, he deflected questions about his first win by giving credit to his players.
“It’s hard to win,” Belichick said. “You gotta do a lot of things right. You gotta do it better than your opponent, so we were fortunate to do that. So it’s, it’s good to be part of it. I tried to do what I could to help them, but look, I didn’t make any blocks, tackles, catches, runs or anything else out there.”