For the better part of the last two years, people have dragged Deion Sanders through the mud for being too much of a spectacle. Too bold. Too visible. Too busy "building a brand" while coaching a team.
But as messy as things have gotten at Colorado, at least you always knew what you were signing up for with Coach Prime. He’s been in the spotlight for decades and has never changed.
But now here comes Bill Belichick, of all people, putting on a three-ring circus of his own—and somehow making Deion look like the picture of professionalism by comparison.
Bill Belichick has quickly turned UNC into a laughing stock
Let’s start with the obvious: Bill Belichick isn’t coaching in the NFL anymore. He’s not even working in broadcasting. Instead, he’s taken a job at North Carolina, where he’s reportedly making $10 million to help run the Tar Heels' football program. That was already a bit of a head-scratcher, simply because of his age and the fact he's never coached college football. But then came Jordon Hudson.
Hudson, Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, has been described as everything from his personal gatekeeper to the Chief Operating Officer of “Belichick Productions”—a company that, by the way, doesn’t actually exist in any legal registry. But that hasn’t stopped her from reportedly controlling access to Belichick, storming off interview sets, or even forcing her way into a Dunkin’ Donuts Super Bowl commercial he was filming.
A recent CBS Sunday Morning interview promoting Belichick’s memoir was derailed for 30 minutes because Hudson allegedly didn’t like how things were going. She reportedly left the set in frustration, delaying filming and shifting all the attention away from Belichick’s book and straight onto their relationship.
Now, think about this: if Deion Sanders’ significant other ever disrupted a media opportunity or inserted herself into a commercial shoot, sports media would lose its collective mind. People already call Deion too flashy just for wearing sunglasses or bringing a camera crew into the locker room. But Belichick? He’s spent a lifetime selling us on being the cold, calculated, all-football-all-the-time guy. Suddenly, he’s a walking TMZ headline.
Even Belichick’s family is concerned. According to multiple reports, they’re “extraordinarily concerned” about Hudson’s influence—not just on his current work but on his legacy. This is the guy who won six Super Bowls and was once hailed as a football genius. Now, the conversation isn’t about his next chapter in coaching. It’s about the 49-year age gap between him and his girlfriend and whether she’s running his life behind the scenes.
To top it off, there were rumors that Hudson had been banned from UNC’s football facilities. The school officially denied those claims, saying she’s still welcome and that she continues to manage “Coach Belichick’s personal brand," something that — honestly — is a headscratcher in and of itself.
Even Julian Edelman, who played his heart out for Belichick in New England, has called the drama “a distraction.” In addition, former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson has come out and said that he believes UNC should fire Belichick.
This whole thing is a distraction — a sideshow — and it's not setting up UNC for any favors.