Bill Belichick was always in control in New England. As he built his dynasty on the back of a “Do your job” mantra, Belichick managed every aspect of the franchise and artfully sidestepped even the most troubling of controversies. But now it seems he’s lost his fastball, and the legend is reportedly looking for outside help to manage his and his new program’s image.
When North Carolina hired an eight-time Super Bowl champion as its head football coach this offseason, it was a signal to the rest of the country that the basketball school was finally taking football seriously. However, there hasn’t been anything serious about the Tar Heels’ offseason with Belichick’s public image spiraling after a bizarre interview with CBS Sunday Morning.
Belichick’s girlfriend Jordon Hudson, 48 years his junior, disrupted the interview in an attempt to steer the conversation away from their very public relationship. Belichick released a statement in her defense, which has continued to amplify the story and the negative headlines around the North Carolina football program.
Then, to make matters worse, it surfaced that Hudson was reportedly the driving force behind North Carolina’s deal with NFL Films for a Hard Knocks docu-series falling through in December.
It’s a mess that even Belichick can’t clean up, so according to a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, “Belichick has been talking to at least one experienced P.R. specialist in hopes of boosting his book tour and/or the overall interests of the North Carolina football program.”
Hudson has clearly had an impact on Belichick’s new public image, and has been involved with UNC Football in an unofficial capacity, but according to the report, Belichick may be wanting to revert back to his bland press conference persona.
Though the bigger concern is for UNC and its football program, which should be feeling a strong sense of buyer’s remorse by now. In Florio’s report, boosting Belichick’s book tour came before the Tar Heels, and that could not be more illustrative of Belichick’s tenure so far. North Carolina has come second to his and his girlfriend’s personal interests the entire way, and it doesn’t appear that is going to change anytime soon.
North Carolina is too far down this road with Belichick to change course now, but if Year 1 doesn’t produce results on the field, this experiment could be short-lived.