Belichick, 74, Blasts Gossip About Girlfriend, 25

Bill Belichick says the story that his girlfriend has a hand in running North Carolina football is false, and he did not soften the language.

The 74-year-old coach told The Wall Street Journal that reporting on Jordon Hudson's involvement with the Tar Heels program is "just a flat-out lie." The interview was published Wednesday, Sept. 16. It was the first time Belichick had spoken publicly on the subject since May 2025.

He said the version of events that spread through the media bore almost no resemblance to what happened.

"The way the story was picked up was a long way from that," Belichick said. "Like, 'She's trying to be the general manager of the team,' and it's so ridiculous."

The email at the center of everything

All of it traces back to one message Belichick sent after he was hired in December 2024. He said he was still carrying a stack of outside commitments when he arrived in Chapel Hill.

"When I took the job here, it was December, and at that time I was doing five TV shows, the radio show, I had a book coming out," Belichick said. "I had a lot of other things going on when I took the job."

His solution was to route the non-university work to Hudson, and he says that is exactly what the email asked for.

"So, I sent an email when I got here and I said, 'Can you please forward any requests to Jordon about my personal appearances so that I can work and coordinate them outside the university?' Didn't have anything to do with the university," he told the Journal. "Well, that was leaked as released as 'Jordon's involved in every single thing that I do and she's copied on every email.' That's just a flat-out lie."

What Belichick says she actually does

Belichick drew the line in one sentence. "There are some things that she helps me schedule or look at," he said. "It's not North Carolina stuff."

A North Carolina spokesperson told the Journal that Hudson does not have football "responsibilities."

Hudson is listed on LinkedIn as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions. She declined an interview with the Journal.

The public records requests she filed on her boyfriend's employer

Between December 2025 and June 2026, Hudson filed public records requests seeking copies of communications between university staff and members of the media about her relationship with Belichick, the Journal reported. One of those requests concerned reporting that said she had been banned from the football facility. UNC Athletics denied it, saying Hudson is welcome at the Carolina football facilities.

Asked why she filed them, Belichick did not answer for her. "I don't want to speak for her," he said. He added that her requests appeared to cover material that had already been sent out.

Hudson has otherwise kept a low profile in recent months after filing trademark applications for Belichick catchphrases.

An investigation ended the same week with his son out

North Carolina announced Thursday that its internal investigation into the football program had concluded and that Steve Belichick, the coach's son, would resign as defensive coordinator on Oct. 27, when his medical leave ends. The university gave no reason for the resignation.

UNC said it "determined that certain actions demonstrated a disregard for Carolina's values and standards of conduct." The school also said in a statement that "these actions were isolated in scope and not a systemic failure" and that "all necessary corrective actions are now underway."

Lead investigator and attorney Nate Huff did not disclose conduct tied to specific individuals. He said investigators conducted about 60 interviews, and he noted Bill Belichick's cooperation.

Bill Belichick disclosed the medical leave on Aug. 6, by which point his son had already missed a week of camp. A report from local television station WRAL said investigators were looking into whether he used drugs while working for the university or gave drugs to a player.

His wife, Jen Belichick, said in part in a statement issued to ESPN: "Unfortunately there is misinformation and speculation about our own situation, but we believe prioritizing health as the most important thing you can do in this life and is invaluable compared to anything else."

Bill Belichick was asked about his son by local media on Sept. 7. "I love all my kids, but I'm not going to comment on a medical situation," he said.

The general manager left first

Mike Lombardi, Belichick's longtime ally and the program's general manager, was placed on paid administrative leave on July 27. Three days later the university announced it had opened an investigation over "concerns" involving Lombardi. ESPN reported that a human-resources complaint had been filed by a former employee.

Lombardi's lawyer, Tom Mars, told The Athletic on Aug. 29 that the process had no merit. "If UNC had grounds to fire Michael for cause, they wouldn't need to conduct such a far-ranging, lengthy witch hunt," Mars said. "They would have done so by now."

Lombardi resigned on Sept. 3, minutes ahead of the WRAL report. Sources told the station that the investigation was examining allegations of drug use at the football facility and inappropriate relationships between staff members and players, and between coaches and staff.

He had been the highest paid general manager in college football at $1.5 million a year, in the second season of a three-year deal. Lombardi took the UNC job in December 2024, his first in the college ranks, after working as an assistant to the Patriots coaching staff from 2014 to 2016.

The interview that turned Hudson into a national story

Scrutiny of Hudson took off in April 2025, during Belichick's "CBS Sunday Morning" interview with journalist Tony Dokoupil. When Dokoupil asked how the two met, Hudson could be heard from off camera saying, "We're not talking about this."

The clip spread everywhere. Belichick later defended her, saying she stepped in because the interview kept drifting from the subject he expected to discuss, his book, "The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football."

Back on the sideline in Chapel Hill

Hudson was not at practice or at the team's season opener overseas, an absence the Globe's Mark Shanahan noted. She turned up at Kenan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, for North Carolina's second game of the season.

The 25-year-old was spotted near the head coach during pregame warmups, wearing the school's baby blue and carrying a football-shaped purse.

The contract behind all of it

Belichick is in the second year of a five-year deal worth $50 million. The first three seasons are fully guaranteed.

Year one did not go the way anyone in Chapel Hill drew it up. The Tar Heels finished 4-8 and placed 14th in the 17-team ACC. Voters picked them 15th in the conference in the preseason this year.

They are 2-0 anyway

North Carolina opened the season on Aug. 29 with a 15-10 win over TCU in Dublin, Ireland. The same opponent had beaten the Tar Heels 48-14 in Belichick's first game a year earlier. On Sept. 12 they handled East Tennessee State 35-3.

Belichick brought in former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator and added Wisconsin transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who beat out Marblehead native Miles O'Neill for the starting job. UNC is Edwards's third school. The roster is one of the least experienced among Power Four teams.

The Tar Heels open ACC play at Clemson on Saturday as a three-point underdog. North Carolina has not beaten Clemson on the road since 2001.

They will play it without freshman wide receiver Keeyun Chapman, the fifth-highest-rated prospect in their 2026 class, who was suspended after being arrested Tuesday on a misdemeanor gun charge. He was a passenger in a car stopped in Chapel Hill.

Belichick has said he spent many spring days at Clemson watching their players, scouting trips that long predate his move to the college game. "Coach Swinney has done a great job," Belichick said this week. "I've known him a long time. I think he's a guy who really cares about the game, cares about his players, and cares about doing the right thing."