Bill Belichick is 'playing second fiddle' to girlfriend Jordon Hudson at UNC as debut season fast approaches
The legendary NFL coach has endured an embarrassing start to life in college football, with Hudson repeatedly overshadowing him as he prepares to coach UNC.
In various TV interviews and viral moments, the former cheerleader has taken center stage and many reports even claim that Belichick's family is 'worried' about him.
Now, her impact has been laid bare by college football analyst Paul Finebaum, who appeared on ESPN's First Take this week.
'Also, there's Bill Belichick... anybody heard of this guy?' he said while previewing the ACC. 'He's only the most famous NFL coach of all-time this side of Vince Lombardi, but lately he's played second fiddle to his girlfriend.
'I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but I am!'
. @finebaum 's top three CFB storylines ⬇️
🤔 What's the pulse of the ACC with Clemson and UNC?
🍿 Will Georgia and Alabama bounce back?
😯 Is Arch Manning the best college QB since Tim Tebow? pic.twitter.com/R6FlCDs8sx
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 11, 2025
The pair's high-profile relationship is also causing a tidal wave of backlash from alumni, donors and even faculty at UNC, who believe the age-gap relationship is eclipsing Belichick's coaching debut - and tarnishing the school's reputation.
While the headline-grabbing couple have drawn media attention since they went public in 2023, newly released emails obtained by the Daily Mail through a public records request expose the internal uproar over what critics are calling a 'disgrace' and a 'circus.'
In one message from late April, a furious donor wrote: 'What a total embarrassment to UNC. I am withdrawing all my donations and future donations.'
Another, from a faculty member, slammed the $10 million, five-year deal handed to Belichick despite his lack of college coaching experience, and questioned how the university could afford it.
Perhaps the most eye-opening moment came back in April when Belichick was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning about the release of his new book.
Striking footage emerged of Hudson by Belichick's side on the field as he coached UNC
In bizarre fashion, Hudson became the focus of the interview when she repeatedly derailed the interview and interrupted to shut down questions about how the pair met.
There was further controversy over a report that UNC had banned Hudson from their football facility, after she was spotted on the field during a team practice session.
That was later clarified by the team, who insisted they had not placed any ban on Hudson, nor planned to.
In May, journalist Pablo Torre claimed that Hudson went out of her way to hijack a TV commercial that Belichick had been asked to do, specifically insisting that she was on screen in a bikini, in a bizarre bid to 'hard launch' their relationship.
'There was one famous story that was witnessed by, I am told, dozens of people, including freelance contractors who were hired to work on the set of a seven-figure scripted commercial,' he said on his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out.
'What I am told by among the dozens of people that witnessed the shooting of this, is what happened that day on set was "highly unusual."
'Jordon Hudson, who was at the time a person they kind of heard about, but again this was last summer… had arrived on set and stated immediately pitching herself for a role that had not been discussed in this scripted seven-figure commercial shoot. That would also serve as "the hard launch" of their relationship.'
Hudson's involvement with the 73-year-old coach has drawn controversy from the start
Belichick's incessant off-field drama is the polar opposite to what he accepted from his players during his coaching run at the New England Patriots, which makes it all the more interesting.
Constant headlines over the past year has sent media and fan interest through the roof as he prepares to take charge of his first game at the collegiate level, at home against TCU on September 1.
Hudson and Belichick, who have a near-50 year age gap, first met in 2021 and went public with their relationship in 2024, though confusion still reigns over when exactly they began dating.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively is using her 'celebrity status' to get an edge at deposition
Justin Baldoni is pushing back against Blake Lively 's request to be deposed in her lawyer's office ahead of their upcoming sexual assault trial. It comes after the 37-year-old actress expressed concern that Baldoni's attorneys will try to make her sworn testimony a 'public spectacle.' The 41-year-old filmmaker hit back by arguing, via his lawyer Bryan Freedman, that Blake has not supported her claim with evidence. According to TMZ, Baldoni's defense team believes holding the deposition at Lively's lawyer's office puts them at a disadvantage. Alternatively, they've proposed to hold the proceedings at their office, which is only a mile away. Justin's lawyer cited the potential need to consult with his hundreds of pages of notes and to use a conference room to speak in private. The actor claims Lively is using her 'celebrity status' to gain an upper hand at the deposition. It comes after the actress, 37, expressed concern that Baldoni's attorneys will try to make her sworn testimony a 'public spectacle'; pictured in June The two sides are preparing to face off in court after they clashed while filming It Ends With Us last year. Baldoni's side wrote in the filing, 'Although Lively's foot-stomping and use of her celebrity status may have enabled her to seize control of the film, which is the crux of this dispute, her counsel's tantrum has no place in this Court. Lively is bound by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure like every litigant.' Lively is preparing to answer tough questions from Baldoni's legal team as she tries to nail down a venue for the deposition. Her legal team is hoping to schedule the deposition at a New York City location that will minimize publicity amid the whirlwind trial. The proposed venue's exact address was redacted in Friday court filings obtained by DailyMail. In a moment of snark, Baldoni's attorney Bryan previously told TMZ that Lively's deposition should be live-streamed to an audience at Madison Square Garden. Freedman's suggestion, which Lively's attorney shot down as a publicity-seeking distraction, was to sell tickets to the event and donate the proceeds to domestic violence victims. Lively and Baldoni butted heads while filming the romantic drama last year, and things turned litigious in December when the Gossip Girl alum sued the actor for alleged sexual harassing and engineering a retaliatory smear campaign against her In June, Lively suffered a setback in the case when a judge denied her attorneys' application for a protective order seeking to block her text messages with Taylor Swift from being entered as evidence. Baldoni's team subpoenaed Lively for text messages, emails and any other messages between her and Swift. His lawyers have subsequently been allowed to pore through the text trail, with all communications related to It Ends With Us set for scrutiny. In one embarrassing text exchange, Lively appeared to refer to herself as the Game of Thrones character Khaleesi, and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.' Elsewhere in Baldoni's filing is the claim that Swift was present at a meeting convened by Lively at her New York penthouse to discuss It Ends With Us script changes. Sources close to Swift insisted the singer had no knowledge of the meeting and simply arrived to find it underway. The situation reportedly left Swift — who is godmother to Lively's three daughters — feeling 'exploited' by her friend of ten years.
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Who won Love Island USA Season 7? Fans are overjoyed after learning who won $100K prize... and who came up empty"
Season 7 of Love Island USA came to a close with Sunday night's epic two-hour finale on Peacock, where fans learned which couple walked away as winners. There were just four couples left - Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen, Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez and Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley - heading into Sunday's finale. Each of the four couples went on one last epic date, before the winner was declared by host Ariana Madix. However, only one member of the winning couple was actually awarded the $100K prize, and they must decided whether or not to split it with their partner. It was also revealed that there will be a Season 7 reunion special co-hosted by Madix and Andy Cohen, airing Monday, August 25 at 9 PM ET on Peacock. So who won this tumultuous season of Love Island USA? It was in fact Amaya and Bryan who emerged victorious! Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez finished in fourth place and Huda Mustafa and Chris Seele were in third, which shocked Huda since they revealed earlier in the finale that they were going to be 'just friends.' 'How the f**k did we get third? We're not even together-together,' Huda said with a laugh after leaning of her third-place finish. Amaya and Bryan beat out runners-up Nic and Olandria for the prize, with each of them given cards - one of which had $0 and the other with $100,000. 'I feel so seen and validated for people to see how strong our connection is,' Amaya said after winning. 'Meeting Amaya here, turned my experience around ridiculously. It feels surreal,' Bryan said. Amaya's card was $0 with Bryan winning $100,000, who was then faced with the choice to split the cash or take it all. 'Honestly, this isn't even really a question for me. Me and Amaya talk about our upbringings a lot. All I keep thinking about is my dad saying, "Money is important but it isn't everything." Of course I'm splitting this money with Amaya,' Bryan said. Many fans quickly took to social media to praise the winners, such as Ang (@scorpiogrooves), who said, 'AMAYA OUR S7 WINNER! CERTIFIED PEOPLE'S PRINCESS! MWUAHHH.' Another fan - @kkaemdongie - thought, 'Bryan and Amaya match so well the advice they give out is basically the same thing #loveislandusa.' Others were seemingly thrilled that Huda didn't win, such as @Purple_Porcupin, who said, 'Huda didn't touch the 100k #LoveIslandUSA.' Another fan dubbed @outrofinesse said, 'Still can't believe Huda and Chris made the final four...'
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Elmo's X account posts series of vile messages after mystery hacker targets Sesame Street social media
The social media site X was abuzz Sunday after an account for the famed Sesame Street Muppet Elmo was hacked, leading to a series of shocking posts targeting Jewish people and trolling Donald Trump. A rep for Sesame Workshop confirmed the digital security breach to Daily Mail Sunday evening. 'Elmo's X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,' the rep said. 'We are working to restore full control of the account.' The account for Elmo, under the handle @elmo, has more than 639,800 followers, and has been on the platform since November of 2012. 'Elmo lives on Sesame Street and was told to tell you that Elmo is official!' a bio line on the social media page reads. On Sunday, it was clear the account had been commandeered by rogue actors, as a series of messages posted called for violence against Jewish people. The post repeated a series of antisemitic tropes and called for harm against Jewish people. The post also took aim at the president, saying, ' DONALD TRUMP IS NETANYAHU'S PUPPET BECAUSE HE IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILE. One message tagged in President Donald Trump that read: 'RELEASE THE FILES @readDonaldTrump CHILD F***ER.' The hacker also peppered in more offensive responses: When one person expressed their frustration with the posts from the account, a response read, 'F*** are you gonna do n****.' When another person said they were going to mute the Elmo account, a response from the Elmo account read, 'F*** you and your t***** daughter.' The unlikely hack and subsequent shock messages led for Elmo to become a trending topic on the platform, with a number of different takes on the incident. The account for Elmo, under the handle @elmo, has more than 639,800 followers, and has been on the platform since November of 2012 'Hacking the official Elmo account gotta be one of the most diabolical things this app has ever seen,' one response read. A few people made reference to rapper Kanye West's history of antisemitic X posts, which he has since distanced himself from. 'Kanye and Elmo should collab sometime,' one user said, while another asked, 'Who let Kanye on Elmo's account?' One user posted a long-circulating meme of the Sesame Street character standing in front of flames to aptly summarize the situation with the hacker.
