For 24-years, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick ran a tight ship, didn’t allow distractions to get in the way of the team, and he certainly didn’t mix business with pleasure when it came down to the football team. Since Belichick became the head coach at the University of North Carolina, he’s been unrecognizable as a football coach and leader of a team and organization.
Belichick has allowed his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, to essentially control his schedule on a day-to-day basis by hiring her to manage his personal brand, including the events and activities that he does and his social media presence. She is not technically his PR manager, but she has acted in the role in multiple ways.
This was made evident during a recent interview conducted by Tony Dokoupill of CBS when he asked Belichick about his relationship with Hudson, she jumped into the conversation off camera to say “we’re not talking about this.”
The one thing that Belichick has never needed is assistance during an interview or a press conference. He’s always been able to control the room and not allow the media to manipulate him or twist his words by the end of it.
In an attempt to clear the air, UNC stepped in and issued a statement clarifying that Hudson isn’t an employee of the university and has no role within the football organization while also still welcoming her with open arms to their campus.
UNC also went as far as helping Belichick by hiring a seasoned PR representative in former Chicago Bears PR, Brandon Faber. In addition, Albert Breer of SI reported that although UNC did the hiring, it was a collaborative process, as Belichick isn’t deaf and hears everything that’s being said about him.
Sports writer and podcaster for Meadowlark Media, Pablo Torre, is investigating the ongoing narratives of the Belichick-Hudson relationship, saying it’s something that Belichick’s own family members are concerned about, as one family source called it.
“Bill Belichick’s family is extraordinarily concerned about what has transpired. One Belichick family source told me, ‘there is deep worry of how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina, but Bill’s legacy, reputation, everything he has built and worked for over decades.’ In fact, the family has been digging into Jordon Hudson, as well.”
For a while, I didn’t think the relationship was a big deal and that people should just let them be, despite the relationship being so public. However, when I saw that Hudson was on the field during UNC’s first football practice, I immediately thought that was a red flag and not the way Belichick operates.
The second instance that really made me become more aware of the concern level is by the amount of celebrities, former athletes, and media members saying that they’re “hearing things” and are really “concerned” for Belichick’s wellbeing, as Charles Barkley expressed last week.
Torre also noted on his podcast that Belichick’s contract buyout drops from $10 million to $1 million on June 1. I don’t believe that Belichick would leave UNC by his own choice; however, if things don’t die down, Torre suggests that there’s a legitimate chance that Belichick doesn’t even coach a game for UNC.
“When the terms of Belichick’s Carolina contract that made him the highest paid public employee in the state were announced, everybody who follows contractual language pointed out that on June 1st, the buyout of Bill Belichick goes from $10 million to $1 million if Bill wanted the escape hatch. So if he wanted out, suddenly it was very interesting that the amount got 10 times less after June 1st.”
After taking a year off, Belichick landed the position he wanted at UNC, hired his longtime friend as the GM in Mike Lombardi, and his son, Matt to coach the quarterbacks. Belichick also hired both of his own sons, Steve and Brian, to run the defense. He even hired one of his former and favorite players, Jamie Collins, to coach linebackers.
I say all of that to make this point. Belichick has set himself up in a dream scenario surrounded by his kids and longtime football partners. There is no way that he intends to willingly buy out his contract with UNC.
It’s not the fact that Belichick is in a relationship or the fact that there’s a 48-year age gap with his new girlfriend; it’s that he’s distracted at work and it’s affecting how he’s doing his job, and quite frankly, the image of UNC’s football program.
The Belichick I remember always practiced what he preached and didn’t stand for anything to become a distraction to the team. It’s time for him to get back into football mode full time.