UNC Football

Amid reported concerns about his girlfriend's role in his professional life, North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick is reportedly exploring outside public relations assistance.

Per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Belichick has had conversations with "at least one experienced P.R. specialist in the hopes of boosting his book tour and/or the overall interests of the North Carolina football program."

According to Florio, the legendary NFL head coach has met with former Chicago Bears vice president of communications Brandon Faber, and the two sides have been in talks for "a couple of months."

Florio noted that while Belichick and Faber have been in communication for a while now, an official contract has not been "completed or formalized." Florio added that the potential new role for Faber would have him "work directly for North Carolina" while also helping Belichick in his personal endeavors, such as his new book.

The possible new P.R. manager for Belichick comes after the Tar Heels head coach's interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS Mornings left the university concerned about how his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, is handling things. Per TMZ, the interview wasn't "sitting well" with North Carolina, and there is a "growing sense this could become a problem."

The moment that stood out the most during Belichick's interview with Dokoupil came when Belichick was asked how he and Hudson interrupted from offscreen to say, "We're not talking about this."

After that interview led to criticism on social media, Hudson posted a screenshot of an email from Belichick on Instagram. The email detailed his thoughts on a book tour while pointing out criticism he expected to receive from the media. Why Hudson shared the email is unclear.

Though Hudson has no reported role within UNC's athletic department, it's clear she has taken on the responsibility of Belichick's P.R. manager. Per The Athletic's Matt Baker, Hudson emailed North Carolina's social media team earlier this year offering input on posts and giving direction for how to promote Belichick's son, Steve Belichick, who was later named defensive coordinator.

According to Baker, Hudson's email signature names her "the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions."

Given the recent spotlight on Belichick and Hudson's relationship, along with North Carolina's potential concerns, bringing in an experienced P.R. specialist like Faber might be the best move for Belichick as he prepares to navigate his first season as a college football head coach.

The reactions to Bill Belichick's viral interview with CBS Sunday Morning featuring a cameo from his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, haven't stopped yet.

On the latest episode of Netflix's Everybody's Live hosted by John Mulaney, the incident was spoofed with Richard Kind in the Belichick role and Fran Gillespie playing the Hudson avatar.

The sketch starts with Mulaney and Kind making innocuous small talk when Gillespie interjects to say, "We're not talking about that." It goes on to include Instagram pictures mocking some of the images that Hudson has shared of her and Belichick together.

Belichick sat down for an interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS Sunday Morning to promote his new book. When Dokoupil asked how Belichick and Hudson met, she chimed in off-camera with the now-infamous "we're not talking about this" remark.

That has led to a back-and-forth between Belichick's camp and CBS about the parameters of the interview.

Belichick said in a statement released by the University of North Carolina, where he is entering his first season as head football coach, he only agreed to the interview with the understanding the focus would "solely" be on the contents of the book and Hudson was "doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track."

A CBS News spokesperson issued a subsequent statement, writing "there were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation" and that was "confirmed repeatedly" with the publishers of Belichick's book who set up the interview.

Whatever the truth is between Belichick and CBS, the fallout from the interview has led to a lot of responses.

Netflix was able to get in on the action using the comedic brilliance of someone like Richard Kind, who makes for a very strong Belichick stand-in.

In addition to her nebulous professional role with North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, Jordon Hudson is becoming a savvy real estate investor.

Charlie Lankston of Realtor.com reported Hudson has bought up properties with a combined value of $8 million within the last few years. She bought three multi-family homes around the Boston metropolitan area in December 2023. They cost $2.2 million, $2.3 million and $3 million individually.

Hudson also claims residency at a single-family home that was purchased in October 2023 for $610,000.

Hudson and Belichick's relationship has been a subject of fascination given their 49-year age gap. They've become increasingly under a microscope after Belichick was hired at North Carolina.

Belichick's recent appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, in which he was promoting his forthcoming book, made headlines as well.

At one point in the interview, CBS Mornings' Tony Dokoupil asks Belichick about his relationship with Hudson and how they met. In regard to the origins of their relationship, Hudson says off-camera they're "not talking about this."

Belichick issued a statement Wednesday alleging that CBS presented a "false narrative" by editing the interview in a way that gave the impression Hudson "was attempting to control the conversation." The legendary head coach also said any interviews he said in connection to his book were intended to "focus solely on the contents of the book."

CBS News responded and said "there were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation" ahead of time. The outlet confirmed as much "repeatedly" with Belichick's publisher.

In his statement, Belichick classified his relationship with Hudson as a "personal and professional" one.

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick issued a statement addressing his appearance on CBS Sunday Morning that quickly grabbed headlines.

Belichick said he agreed to sit down with the idea that the interview would "focus solely on the contents of" his forthcoming book, The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.

The coach argued that in addition to CBS reporter Tony Dokoupil asking questions that went beyond his book, he said the interview that aired "presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon [Hudson] was attempting to control the conversation":

CBS News responded with a statement saying they agreed to speak with Belichick "for a wide-ranging interview" and "there were no preconditions or limitations" to the conversation:

While it isn't featured in the book, Dokoupil asked about Belichick's relationship with Hudson. When Dokoupil questions how the couple met, Hudson says off-camera they're "not talking bout this." She's also described as being "a constant presence" throughout the interview:

TMZ Sports subsequently reported at one point Hudson "stormed out of the room and delayed shooting for 30 minutes."

"We're told outside of that baffling moment that made the final edit, there were numerous other instances of Hudson butting in — even when the legendary coach was answering questions about football, she would stop and correct him," the report said.

TMZ Sports added that some within UNC are even growing "concerned about Hudson's influence on Belichick's tenure as the head football coach in Chapel Hill."

This also comes after The Athletic's Matt Baker requested public records for communications between Hudson and UNC employees. According to Baker, she doesn't have an official role with the school but did in one case offer guidance on how to frame the hiring of Belichick's son, Steve, to the coaching staff.

In an Instagram post Tuesday, Hudson shared a screenshot of an email from Belichick written on April 10. In the message, he laid out his frustrations with how the promotional work for his book was straying far from its actual content:

Hudson wrote in the caption accompanying her post that a full statement would come later in the day. Belichick's newest remarks appear to be just that.

Belichick's confirmation that he and Hudson have a "personal and professional relationship," along with the fact they met on a 2021 flight, is unlikely to quell the outside interest.

As Bill Belichick prepares for his first season at North Carolina, there are reportedly concerns about his girlfriend's influence over him.

During an interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS Mornings, there were a handful of awkward moments, including one in which Belichick's girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, shut down a question about how they met by saying, "We're not talking about this."

According to TMZ, moments like that which occurred during the interview on Sunday aren't "sitting well" with North Carolina, and there's a "growing sense this could become a problem."

TMZ added there are personnel at UNC who are concerned about Hudson's influence on the head coach, seemingly taking on a role as his manager.

It's still unclear what exactly Hudson's role is, but it's clear she's serving as some kind of public relations manager for Belichick. Earlier this year, Belichick asked North Carolina staffers to copy Hudson on certain emails, specifically those regarding social media and web content.

That request doesn't seem that out of the ordinary, as it makes sense that the 72-year-old Belichick would want his 24-year-old girlfriend to handle anything regarding his social media, but there has been some other interesting involvement from Hudson over the past few months.

The Athletic's Matt Baker reported earlier this month that Hudson emailed UNC's social media team asking them to promote Bill's son, Steve Belichick, "as his own established, credible entity." Steve Belichick was eventually named defensive coordinator.

Baker also noted that Hudson's "email signature identifies her as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions."

Whatever Hudson's role is doesn't seem to be posing a serious issue at the moment, but it appears the higher ups at North Carolina fear things could get out of hand eventually.

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick pushed back against the idea he was unceremoniously dumped by the New England Patriots and team owner Robert Kraft.

In an interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS Mornings, Belichick called his exit as a "mutual decision," doubling down when Dokoupil pointed out that Kraft described it as a firing.

"It was a mutual decision," the coach said.

Regarding the change, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss reported in January 2024 that "there was said to be no conflict, no disagreement, and in the end, productive talks resulted in a mutual decision that left both sides comfortable and at ease."

However you want to term Belichick's departure, it sounds like he and Kraft did have a shared dislike of one another in the end.

Dokoupil noted Kraft isn't mentioned in the text or the acknowledgements of Belichick's forthcoming book, The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.

Kraft, for his part, did the coaching legend few favors when he tried to return to the NFL ranks. ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Jeremy Fowler reported in April 2024 that Kraft had candid conversations with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. In those chats, he warned Blank "not to trust Bill" as Atlanta was weighing whether to hire the six-time Super Bowl champion.

By taking the North Carolina job, Belichick has an avenue to silence the skeptics who said his best coaching days are behind him.

Life in Chapel Hill includes girlfriend Jordon Hudson, who has been active behind the scenes in helping to shape the image of the program. Belichick, who's 48 years older than Hudson, told Dokoupil he has "never been too worried about what everybody else thinks."

Dokoupil said in the segment Hudson "was a constant presence" in his interview with Belichick. At one point, she can be heard saying the coach wouldn't answer any questions about how they met.

If nothing else, the Belichick era won't be a boring period for UNC football.

Bill Belichick and North Carolina got a major addition to their roster out of the transfer portal on Thursday.

South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez, considered to be a 3-star transfer prospect by 247Sports, announced his commitment to the Tar Heels on social media.

Lopez entered the transfer portal in the winter, but ultimately decided to return to South Alabama. Earlier this week, he reentered the transfer portal and quickly emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the spring window.

Lopez, who is from Madison, Alabama, was considered to be a 3-star prospect and the No. 63 quarterback in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports Composite. He appeared in five games as a true freshman, starting the 68 Ventures Bowl against Eastern Michigan, where he completed 14 of his 19 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns along with 88 rushing yards and a score on the ground.

He became the Jaguars' starting quarterback in his redshirt freshman season a year ago, throwing for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 starts. He added 465 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

One of his most impressive performances at South Alabama came in the team's Week 1 loss to North Texas when he tallied 494 yards of total offense, a program record for a single game.

While Belichick will likely spend the coming months evaluating his quarterback options, it's fair to assume Lopez could get the starting nod this fall. North Carolina's quarterback room features a freshman in Bryce Baker and senior Max Johnson, who played just one game last year before a season-ending injury. Quarterback Ryan Browne, who transferred to North Carolina from Purdue in December, entered the transfer portal earlier this week.

One month after North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick requested members of his staff to include his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, on any emails being sent to him, details about her role with the football program have come to light.

Citing an open records request, The Athletic's Matt Baker obtained 44 pages of emails featuring correspondence from Hudson to members of the Tar Heels' staff.

Baker described most of the emails involving Hudson as "mundane" and her involvement as "minimal," though she did write to the school's social media team on Dec. 22 about promoting Bill's son, Steve Belichick, "as his own established, credible entity" before it was announced he was being hired as North Carolina's defensive coordinator:

"Though Steve Belichick is in fact Bill’s son, he should be depicted and represented as his own established, credible entity as opposed to an extension of Bill. It can be easily misinterpreted that Steve is simply benefitting from nepotism but that is not the case. Steve was fortunate to have learned defensive football strategy from the ‘greatest defensive mind’ of all-time. He has earned his position due to his performance and output."

Bill Belichick finalized his coaching staff in March, with Steve listed as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Brian Belichick, Bill's youngest son, is coaching the defensive backs and safeties. Baker noted Brian wasn't mentioned in any of the emails.

Hudson also noted in her email that Steve "has the experience of being a COLLEGE defensive coordinator and will bring a plethora of knowledge to the coaching staff" and that emphasizing his resume would "prevent controversy" and "validate" Bill's decision to hire him.

On March 13, TheAssemblyNC.com's Matt Hartman posted a copy of an email Bill Belichick sent to his staff asking them to include Hudson on any correspondence being sent to him.

Even though Baker wrote Hudson doesn't have a contract or any sort of employment agreement with the university, he did point out there appears to be some sort of professional involvement with Belichick because her "email signature identifies her as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions."

Hudson is cited as the manager of Trouble Cub Enterprises LLC and other entities that include a "multi-platform media project" (Chapel Bill LLC); production and merchandising group for something called "The All-Belichick Team" (All BB Team LLC); and a video podcast production firm (Coach Show LLC).

CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported that North Carolina's football program maintained a desire to do "some sort of all-access, behind-the-scenes series" after a deal with NFL Films for a Hard Knocks series fell apart.

It's unclear if Belichick Productions and/or Trouble Cub Enterprises LLC would have any involvement with the series should it come together.

Belichick is returning to coaching in 2025 at North Carolina after sitting out last season following his departure from the New England Patriots. This will mark his first time coaching at the college level after 49 seasons in the NFL from 1975 to '23.

Bill Belichick didn't let a pro day getting in the way of his responsibilities as North Carolina's head football coach.

The Athletic's Joseph Person noted Belichick wasn't present for the Tar Heels' pro day for NFL teams on Monday because he was busy in pre-planned meetings with his coaching staff as the event was going on.

Josh Washburn, a scouting consultant for The 33rd Team and former North Carolina receiver, told Person he thinks Belichick also wanted to let the players who were on the team under former head coach Mack Brown stand on their own.

"I think Bill’s just letting Mack’s guys be Mack’s guys, then he wants his guys to be his guys," Wasburn said. "None of us really expected to see Bill or (general manager Mike) Lombardi."

Belichick signed a five-year deal with North Carolina in December to get back into coaching after sitting out the 2024 season. This marks his first stint as a coach at the college level.

Person noted that Washburn described the vibe as "different" since Belichick replaced Brown, with "longer and more intense" practices that are generally closed off to outside visitors.

Former Tar Heels cornerback Alijah Huzzie, who is a prospect in the 2025 NFL draft, told Evan Rogers of Inside Carolina that Belichick requires players to schedule an appointment if they want to speak with him rather than just being able to walk into his office:

"They can't walk up to his door and be like, 'all right, Coach, I've got something going on.' You've got to set an appointment time (with Belichick). If you're a player, I feel like you should have that right to go up to your head coach that's basically like a mentor to you, or damn near like a father figure in your life. You should be able to go up and access him and talk about anything, or just have access to him at all times. Coming from a player, I think just the security, the Belichick era, all that is just a little much coming to a college program like this that's had a total flip and a rebuild. But it also can go a good way. It can be a positive, so I'm just sitting back and seeing how it plays out."

According to Person, there weren't any NFL head coaches or general manager at Monday's pro day since the Tar Heels' lone potential first-round pick is running back Omarion Hampton.

By comparison, their 2024 pro day featuring Drake Maye had coaches and general managers from the New England Patriots, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos in attendance.

Belichick is still getting acclimated to his new job at a level he's never coached at before, so his absence from the event doesn't mean anything. It wouldn't be a surprise if he attends next year when he's more familiar with how to run things.

North Carolina is hoping Belichick can lead a quick turnaround for the program. The Tar Heels went 44-33 under Brown dating back to 2019. They have just one season with at least 10 wins since 1998 (11-3 in 2015).

Belichick won at least 10 games in 19 of his 24 seasons with the Patriots from 2000 to '23.

Some members of the UNC board of trustees believed the hire of Bill Belichick as the team's next head football coach was of a similar nature to Colorado bringing aboard Deion Sanders, per ESPN's David Hale, Andrea Adelson and Chris Low.

"According to several sources, board members viewed Belichick as something akin to Colorado's hiring of Deion Sanders -- a public relations and financial windfall that had the added benefit of improving the team on the field," the ESPN trio relayed.

That note was amid an in-depth piece about how UNC landed Belichick, who won eight Super Bowls in the NFL (two as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator, sixth as the New England Patriots' head coach).

Belichick took a year off after he and the Pats parted ways after the 2023 season, but he's back to school for the first time since his playing days at Wesleyan from 1971-1974.

Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, has been a great success at Colorado. Before his arrival, the Buffaloes went 1-11 in 2022. Colorado improved to 4-8 in 2023 before earning a 9-4 record and a No. 25 spot in the final Associated Press poll last year.

Obviously, much attention went Colorado's way even before Sanders coached his first game simply because of his celebrity. Per Colorado's athletics website, a crowd of 47,277 watched the team's 2023 spring game, and that attendance figure was more than all of but two of the Buffaloes' 2022 home contests.

UNC certainly hopes Belichick's arrival spurs sustained interest off the field and great success on it. The Tar Heels have finished in the Top 25 of the final AP poll just once in the past nine years. They also haven't won a bowl game since 2019.

Belichick certainly hopes to change that trend, with eyes on the team's first game, a home matchup against TCU on Sept. 1.