Jordon Hudson, girlfriend of UNC football coach Bill Belichick, adjusts his coat during UNC football’s Practice Like a Pro open practice at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, April 12, 2025. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com
Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of UNC head football coach Bill Belichick, is “welcome” at the team’s football facilities, the athletic department said in a statement Friday — contrary to a report that said the 24-year-old was “banned” from those areas.
Citing two unnamed sources “at the University of North Carolina,” podcast host Pablo Torre published a report Friday morning saying that Hudson was “no longer allowed” in the university’s football facilities.
A statement from Carolina athletics indicated that is not the case.
The statement reiterated that Hudson is not an employee of the university, but said she would remain involved in other aspects of Belichick’s career.
“While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina football facilities,” the statement read. “Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina football and the university.”
Hudson and Belichick’s relationship has raised eyebrows among many since the 73-year-old former NFL coach was named the Tar Heels’ head coach last December. The pairing has also raised questions about what role Hudson officially — or unofficially — holds within the football program.
The couple has been in the limelight even more in recent weeks, after the former NFL coach sat for an interview with CBS Sunday Morning to promote his new book.
Belichick, who won the Super Bowl six times as head coach of the New England Patriots, makes an annual salary of $10 million as head coach of the Tar Heels — an unprecedented investment in football at North Carolina’s flagship public university.
After UNC’s statement refuted his reporting, Torre responded on X defending his work.
“UNC can now choose to describe or change its position on Jordon Hudson’s involvement however it wishes, following the publication of our episode,” Torre said. “We requested comment and filed dozens of FOIA requests that were not satisfied. And we stand by the specific reporting in our episode, which came from the highest levels of the football program.”
Belichick’s CBS interview
The 7-minute interview with CBS went viral — not for something Belichick said, but for what he was told not to say, and by whom. Hudson said off camera, “We’re not talking about this,” when the coach, 73, was asked how the two met. He did not have a chance to answer. The clip has garnered millions of views online since it first aired on April 27.
Belichick defended Hudson and criticized CBS in a statement, sent on email letterhead for the university’s communications office, after the interview aired.
Despite Belichick wanting interviews about his book to deal solely with that topic, the coach said that expectation was not honored the interview. (Belichick references Hudson in the book, referring to her as his “idea mill and creative muse.”)
“I was surprised,” Belichick said in the statement, “when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
Belichick said Hudson was not deflecting a specific question but “simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track.” Hudson reportedly interrupted the interview multiple times, according to Pro Football Talk, a subsidiary of NBC Sports.
CBS News said in a statement after the interview that there were “no preconditions or limitations” agreed to between the network and Belichick, or his representatives, at any point before or after the interview.
Jordon Hudson’s role at UNC
Despite not being employed by the university, Hudson’s public actions have seemingly portrayed her as an unofficial communications and administrative assistant for Belichick. Her involvement with Belichick, in his role as head coach of the Tar Heels, is generally more public-facing than that of other local coaches’ significant others.
Belichick requested in December for Hudson to be copied on all emails about social media and online content that university staff sent to him.
“I am including Jordon on this email so she can also keep up with our postings,” Belichick wrote. “Can you include her on anything you send to me?”
The Athletic analyzed dozens of pages of emails with Hudson, most of which featured limited involvement with the program. Some, though, included instructions on how the program should handle the announcements of Belichick hiring his sons as assistant coaches, and negative comments on social media.
Hudson was also present at the Tar Heels’ first spring practice, which was open to the media, and the subsequent press conference.
In his interview with CBS, Belichick said he joined social media sites, including Instagram, but it appears he does not run them.
“I’m on some of those social media platforms, but I honestly don’t follow them,” Belichick said.
Hudson has also made several posts on Instagram featuring her in UNC football gear, and in the team’s facilities.
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Korie Dean covers higher education in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer, where she is also part of the state government and politics team. She is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill and a lifelong North Carolinian.