As someone who knows North Carolina coach Bill Belichick recently characterized it, Belichick has a habit of couching his circumstances in one of two ways: hero or victim.
In the aftermath of a recent feeding frenzy of reports pointing to the disintegration of Belichick's first foray into college football, the victim card is being played.
This comment tucked inside a Saturday report from Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com says it all: "[S]uspicions within UNC’s program that some of the negative headlines have origins in New England."
Those stubborn things known as facts suggest otherwise.
The story that started it all came from Pat Welter of WRAL-TV. If the Patriots somehow infiltrated a local affiliate in Raleigh and planted the seeds for Welter's exhaustive account of division in the locker room, disorganization in the coaching staff, and overall dysfunction in the building, that would rank among the most impressive accomplishments from owner Robert Kraft's 30-plus-year tenure with the team.
None of the articles came from the universe of reporters the Patriots could easily nudge. The story about the commencement of exit-strategy discussions was written by an outlet that covers North Carolina sports.
If the Patriots had fingerprints on any of the items that surfaced this week, that would be worth a story of its own. Especially since one of the stories illustrating the various problems with the UNC program was written by three of Russini’s colleagues — none of whom cover the NFL.
But blaming others seems to be the strategy for a program that currently is solely to blame for its current predicament. Indeed, Russini's story explains, "People inside the football operation believe the criticism is intended to hurt the program."
Those "people" are undoubtedly Belichick and embattled G.M. Mike Lombardi, who has a history of pushing back against stories that tend to make the program look less than fully functional. The inescapable truth is that Belichick and Lombardi are doing a very good job on their own of hurting the program, without external help. Particularly Lombardi, who was brought in to set the table with players and who, to date, has failed miserably.
But, hey, keep thinking it's someone else's fault. Keep grinding an ax against the Patriots. Keep blaming anyone but yourself for the situation. That'll definitely make things better.