North Carolina coach Bill Belichick has spent the last several days promoting his new book, The Art of Winning: Lessons from a Life in Football. But along the way, he’s also been quietly trying to manage his public image.
Much of the damage control stems from the now-infamous CBS interview that sparked a media firestorm — largely due to how Belichick’s girlfriend and reported publicist, Jordon Hudson, handled herself during the process of the segment.
From the ACC spring meetings to Good Morning America, Belichick has worked to reframe the narrative. His latest appearance came on The Pivot podcast with Ryan Clark, where he opened up more directly about Hudson’s involvement in his professional life, and how it all began with an email.
“One of the first things that came out when North Carolina sent me emails saying, ‘These people want to talk to you…’ I sent back an email, ‘Can you please copy Jordon on these requests?’ so she could at least filter through them because there was nobody,” Belichick explained.
“We didn’t have a sports information guy. Because all emails are shared publicly, that was taken as Jordon’s running the sports information department. And that also led to a narrative, which is just totally — she’s not doing it. I mean, there was nobody to help me sort it out, so I was asking her to do it.”
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Hudson’s ties to UNC football have been a lightning rod of speculation. Pablo Torre reported she was banned from UNC football facilities — a claim the university has denied, noting she is not employed by the program and holds no formal role.
Belichick hasn’t shied away from defending her publicly. On Good Morning America, he called her “terrific” and clarified her role.
“She does the business things that don’t relate to North Carolina that come up in my life, so I can concentrate [on] football,” Belichick told Michael Strahan.
Clark’s podcast helped trace the roots of the controversy, pointing to an early misunderstanding that snowballed into months of headlines. Whether the drama fades or not, Belichick made clear he’s ready to turn the focus back to football — where he’s most comfortable.
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