By Zuri Berry, Boston.com Staff

Patriots coach Bill Belichick once hosted Tim Tebow for a pre-draft visit in 2010. He has praised the quarterback during Tebow's three years in the NFL and has tried to stay away from conversations about him since he became a free agent.

But Belichick and Tebow have continued to be tied together since that first visit in 2010, when they were spotted at a restaurant in the North End. And the ties have only grown since Josh McDaniels returned to the Patriots fold. McDaniels drafted Tebow while he was the head coach in Denver.

So it was interesting to hear that Belichick "hated" Tebow as a player in a report by Yahoo! Sports.

From the report:

And while there's plenty of media chatter that Tebow could land with the Patriots (whose offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, was the man behind the Broncos' decision to draft Tebow in the first round), my organizational sources tell me that's very unlikely to happen, with one going so far as to say that Coach Bill Belichick "hates" Tebow as a player. As for the prospect of employing Tebow as a change-of-pace quarterback — and asking Tom Brady to come off the field in those situations — the source says, "No chance. Plus they wouldn't like the circus that comes with it."

Belichick has disputed that claim, telling ESPN Boston it is "completely untrue":

"Every single player has strengths and weaknesses but regardless of that, for anyone to have represented that is the way I feel about Tim Tebow is completely untrue, baseless and irresponsible. It is unfortunate that something so inaccurate was reported."

Tebow is still available, if the Patriots are interested.