Just about everything is going poorly for Bill Belichick at the University of North Carolina. Belichick’s Tar Heels have only beaten Charlotte and Richmond while getting obliterated in their three games against Power Four opponents, and a steady stream of negative reports have been flowing in as a result.
The Athletic’s senior NFL insider Dianna Russini added to that avalanche of reporting last week when she noted that there are “suspicions” at UNC that “some of the negative headlines have origins in New England.”
Russini was a guest on the Next Pats Podcast, and Patriots insider Phil Perry couldn’t let her go without asking for an update on the Belichick situation.
Russini reiterated her reporting from over the weekend, saying, “Yeah, Bill Belichick and [UNC general manager] Michael Lombardi think that the Patriots are doing this to them.”
The reports have described a lack of communication from Belichick and Lombardi to the players, improper benefits being given to a player (leading to one assistant coach being suspended), the cancellation of a planned behind-the-scenes documentary on Hulu, and reported buyout discussions for Belichick after just five games — none of which would seemingly have any origin in New England.
And after Belichick banned Patriots scouts from UNC’s football facilities and reportedly demanded that UNC football’s social media channels not share Drake Maye’s Patriots highlights, the belief that the Patriots are behind some of this negative press does fit in with the trend.
“Do you know those people in your life who went through a breakup and they still think that their ex is doing things to them?” Russini asked. “And you’re like, ‘They moved on. They’re not doing anything to you. They don’t care anymore.‘ That’s kind of how I feel that situation is, where I do believe Belichick and [GM Mike] Lombardi are in this bubble where they’re defensive right now, and they’ve got their guards up because everyone’s coming at them.”
While the blowout losses and the Jordon Hudson situation are among the reasons for that perceived attack, Russini stated that there’s been no indication that any of the ugly reports about UNC’s football program originated in New England.
“I don’t get the sense that New England is doing anything. It’s not even a sense; I don’t have any reporting where New England is doing things to make Bill Belichick look bad in North Carolina,” she said. “In fact, anyone I talk to in the Patriots organization, they don’t mock it, but they feel like this is like Bill fighting a ghost at this point.”
Russini added: “New England’s moved on.”
Belichick, clearly, has not.
