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Bill Belichick says Jordon Hudson ‘doesn’t have anything to do with UNC football’
Hudson and Belichick went viral after Hudson interrupted an interview question directed toward Belichick about how the couple met.
In his first TV interview since a CBS Sunday Morning sit down sparked a media firestorm, Bill Belichick attempted to clear the air around his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, and her level of involvement with the UNC football program.
Speaking to ESPN’s Christine Williamson in Florida, Belichick discussed the current state of the Tar Heels program and his new role of leading a college football team for the first time in his lauded coaching career.
Midway through the interview, Williams broached the subject of Hudson, who has been in the spotlight since taking an active role in Belichick’s interview with CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil last month.
“Alright so, I know that you’re aware that your relationship with Jordon Hudson has been a headline over the last few months,” Williamson said. “And all of the specifics aside, because I know a lot has come out in the last couple of days, how do you think that impacts your ability to coach this football team, if at all?”
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“Yeah, you know, that’s really off to the side,” Belichick replied. “It’s a personal relationship and she doesn’t have anything to do with UNC football. I’m excited to be back in the coach’s meetings and getting ready for June and then August when we get into training camp. So June will be a big recruiting month for us, and then August we’ll start to get ready for the season.”
Williamson pivoted to the impact that the ongoing narrative around Hudson could have on Belichick’s players as they lay the groundwork for the 2025 season.
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“I know that you’re not on social media and you don’t read as much as everybody else as seen,” Williamson told Belichick. “But when it comes to having conversations with your players, have you been able to talk about any of those things and the specifics of what’s going on off the field?”
“Yeah, no, I talk to the players, you know, when we meet with them and when they come into visit and so forth, sure,” Belichick replied.
“And how have those conversations gone?” Williamson asked.
“Yeah, great. Again, we want to make the players the best that they can be, provide them the best opportunity on and off the field, and that’s what we’re about at UNC and that’s what we do best for every single player we have,” Belichick answered.
Hudson and Belichick went viral after Hudson interrupted Dokoupil when he asked Belichick how the couple first met.
But several other concerns have surfaced following the awkward CBS taping, with UNC recently refuting a report from Meadowlark Media’s Pablo Torre that Hudson was banned from the Tar Heels’ football facility.
“While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities,” UNC’s athletics department said in a statement Friday. “Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.”
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Torre — citing two unnamed sources at UNC — reported on his podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” that Hudson was no longer welcome at the team facility. Torre stood by his initial report following UNC’s statement.
“UNC can now choose to describe or change its position on Jordon Hudson’s involvement however it wishes, following the publication of our episode,” Torre said in a social-media post on Friday. “We requested comment and filed dozens of FOIA requests that were not satisfied. And we stand by the specific reporting in our episode, which came from the highest levels of the football program.”
While Belichick brushed aside talk of Hudson’s involvement with the football program, e-mails obtained by The Athletic — along with a public records request — revealed that Hudson had taken an active role in sending correspondence to the school about team releases and social media posts, even though she not does not have a contract or other employment agreement with UNC.
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