Bill Belichick has never been a fan of the media, but as a first-time college football head coach, he immediately understood that eyeballs are a necessary evil at the collegiate level. Exposure helps with fundraising and recruiting, and that’s likely why Belichick pushed so hard for Hard Knocks in Chapel Hill, but reportedly, his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, stood in the way.
On Wednesday, The Athletic released a report detailing Belichick’s pursuit of Hard Knocks and how the deal with NFL Films fell apart in December. The report is aptly timed, with growing concerns in North Carolina about Hudson’s involvement with the program after an unnecessarily contentious CBS Sunday Morning interview. However, it fails to provide much detail related to Hudson’s involvement.
Is Jordon Hudson being unfairly scapegoated for failed Hard Knocks project?
Reporters Matt Baker, Andrew Marchand, and Brendan Marks wrote, “Jordon Hudson, Belichick’s girlfriend, played an instrumental role in stopping the production, related to her request to be heavily involved in the project, according to multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations.”
After that, it goes on to mention that in December, Hudson identified herself in an email as the chief operating officer of a company that does not exist: Belichick Productions. A bizarre note that ties in with the interesting behavior that Hudson displayed in the CBS interview, shutting down the interviewer’s questions. Yet, nothing in the story directly ties Hudson to the deal going belly-up.
Belichick could have gotten cold feet after pushing for the project, and sources seem to believe that Hudson played a role in his apprehension, but there’s a lot about this story that feels as though it’s piling on Hudson after Sunday’s debacle. Regardless of who shut down the project, The Athletic did detail the massive loss of exposure and resources that UNC suffered.
NFL Films deal could have set up UNC football for success
North Carolina needed the Hard Knocks deal. Not just for the exposure it would generate, the program is doing a good enough job of garnering attention since hiring Belichick. But also, for the facilities fee that it would have earned from NFL Films.
UNC had agreed upon a $200,000 facilities fee with NFL Films and up to $50,000 in reimbursement costs for the project. A team attempting a one-year rebuild, primarily in the transfer portal, could have used the extra money to expedite that process. Plus, it wouldn’t have hurt to sell recruits on the idea of starring in an HBO docuseries.
Whether Hudson ultimately shut down the deal or not, the North Carolina football program has become a big story for all the wrong reasons. Hiring the 73-year-old Belichick was always going to be a big risk, and so far it hasn’t paid off. However, the legend can still put this chaotic offseason in the rearview if he starts to win games this fall.