Bill Belichick reportedly seeking P.R. help amid fallout from CBS interview
Belichick has reportedly had discussions with "at least one" public relations strategist.
Bill Belichick might be making some adjustments to his press relations strategy following his interview with “CBS Sunday Morning.”
The former Patriots head coach has had discussions with “at least one” public relations strategist to help boost sales of his new book and interest in the North Carolina football program, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Sunday. Florio later named Bears vice president of communications Brandon Faber as one of the people Belichick has spoken with, but noted that those conversations have been going on “for months.”
Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, were widely scrutinized for the way they handled themselves during the current UNC head coach’s interview on “CBS Sunday Morning” last week. When Belichick was asked by Tony Dokoupil how he and Hudson met, Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend interjected and said, “We’re not talking about that.” Dokoupil also mentioned that Hudson was a “constant presence” during the interview.
As Belichick was on “CBS Sunday Morning” to help promote his new book, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football,” he criticized CBS News’ line of questioning while defending Hudson in a statement Wednesday.
“Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book,” Belichick’s statement began.
“Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book,” Belichick continued in his statement “After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
Belichick added that the eight-minute segment didn’t “reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had.” He also defended Hudson, saying that any discussions of her trying to control the interview were a “false narrative.”
CBS News, however, said that the two sides didn’t agree to make any topic off-limits ahead of the interview.
“When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview,” a CBS News spokesperson said. “There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.”
The fallout from the interview led to a week of multiple reports digging into the personal lives of Belichick and Hudson. There was even a joke made at the expense of the couple in the cold open on the most recent episode of “Saturday Night Live,” while a former player of Belichick’s with the Patriots wondered if UNC should keep him as their head coach.
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