The New England Patriots appear to have stumbled upon a quarterback-coach combination that can lead them to success in the future in Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel, and no one seems to be more upset about that than the guy who led them to six Super Bowl victories over a two-decade span.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who is in the middle of a tough start to life at the collegiate level with North Carolina, hasn't just been stingy with praise for the team that let him go after years of Mac Jones-led futility; he's downright banned all mention of the Patriots from his program.
Belichick has directed his staff not to post anything related to New England, which comes after revelations that he would not allow anyone connected to the Patriots in the building. Even though Maye is a Carolina alum, which should be a gold mine for this program, Belichick was very stingy with his praise for anything related to the Patriots.
While Belichick seemingly relented in the light of some bad publicity, the fact that UNC's socials were not swimming with praise for Maye is a sign that the legendary coach's tremendously large and bruised ego seems to be doing him more harm than good.
Bill Belichick looks petty for refusing to praise Patriots, Drake Maye
Belichick's Tar Heels are 2-3 on the season, though both of their wins have come against FCS foe Richmond and Group of Five in-state rival Charlotte. Belichick has been outscored 127-33 against Power Four schools, as he had fallen 48-14 to TCU, 34-9 to UCF, and 38-10 to Clemson.
Part of the whole selling point of hiring Belichick was the fact that he allegedly knew the NFL inside and out, making the Tar Heels a pipeline to the pros. Instead, Belichick is trying to freeze one team out of his program, which is hurting his players and reputation at the same time.
There's nothing wrong with being a bit upset about getting fired from a team you lorded over for two decades, but to go out of your way to use your professional position as an avenue for a pathetic attempt at revenge is just sad. The players on his team are the only ones hurt by this.
Belichick will likely make amends with the team when he is done coaching, but he seems to have dug his heels in with this latest bit of pseudo-warfare against his old team.