North Carolina reportedly "concerned" with Jordon Hudson's influence over Bill Belichick

When he was in his heyday running the New England Patriots, no one had less of a tolerance for distraction than Bill Belichick. We all remember the "Seattle" press conference. 

Now at North Carolina, Belichick has invited a 24-year-old walking, talking, tweeting distraction, which has quickly overtaken the public interest in how the Tar Heels are going to perform on the field this year.

Initially a sideshow fascination, the story of Jordon Hudson's influence over Bill Belichick clicked into a new gear on Sunday when CBS aired its incredibly awkward interview with Belichick. To be clear, this was with CBS Sunday Morning, not 60 Minutes. At first, Belichick laid out when asked why Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn't garner a mention in Belichick's 260-page book about his successes and missteps in his 50-year career in coaching. Then, Belichick refused to answer -- or Hudson did not allow Belichick to answer -- a slow-pitch softball question about how the 72-year-old and the 24-year-old met. 

Earlier this month, The Athletic published emails showing Hudson instruct North Carolina's communications staff on how to handle the announcement of Steve Belichick, Bill's son, as UNC's defensive coordinator. Hudson also referred to herself as the COO of Belichick Productions, a company that appears not to exist. That exchange prompted questions: 1) Why is a 24-year-old telling UNC's seasoned staff how to do their jobs, 2) Why is Belichick's significant other assuming something akin to a chief of staff role, and 3) Why are Question 1 and 2 rolled into the same person?

On Sunday, the nation saw the happy couple's dynamic play out on camera.

Now, TMZ reports that was not the only time Hudson butted in to a question to her boyfriend, including questions about football. At one point, Hudson walked about of the interview, and shooting was delayed half an hour. Ultimately, CBS had to bring higher-ups in to help concoct a usable edit from what, again, was supposed to be a puff piece. 

As the story gained momentum early in the week, Hudson then went on offense.

The TMZ piece concludes that "folks at UNC" are concerned with Hudson's influence over Belichick, writing "there's a growing sense this could become a problem." 

The obvious follow-up to that: how could they not be concerned?

The usual caveats apply here. A publicity-tour-gone-wrong in April will not be top of mind when the Tar Heels take the field on Sept. 1 against TCU. If North Carolina wins this fall, this story will become a cooky side note in the quirky personal life of a Hall of Fame coach. 

But in the meantime, this is embarrassing for Belichick and it's embarrassing for North Carolina. Most in the NFL believe Belichick only took the job because he went 0-for-6 on getting an NFL head coaching job in the 2024 cycle and wasn't getting any interest in the 2025 cycle, either. You think any of the 13 franchises that passed on Belichick are regretting that decision right now? As we recall, it took an internal power struggle to get Belichick to Chapel Hill in the first place. AD Bubba Cunnningham wanted to hire Arthur Smith or Jon Sumrall. In the end, the pro-Belichick faction won out, and committed at least $30 million to him alone. At Belichick's insistence, UNC made his pal Michael Lombardi the highest-paid general manager in college football. 

If Belichick does not win at North Carolina, "How did you meet your 24-year-old girlfriend?" will be remembered as the first "I told you so" moment in a humiliating swing-and-miss for the university.