The “Chapel Bill” era has already taken an interesting route in North Carolina, despite the famed Super Bowl-winning head coach having yet to lead the Tar Heels in a game.
Bill Belichick defended his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, after an interview he sat for, which aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” last weekend.
The interview featured a now-viral moment where Hudson quickly interrupted after the 73-year-old was asked by reporter Tony Dokoupil how Belichick and Hudson had first met.
Belichick, who was hired as North Carolina’s new head football coach in December, said CBS did not honor the expectations set for the interview.
“I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep that conversation centered on the book,” Belichick said in a statement through the university on Wednesday. “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, the second-most winningest head coach in NFL history, backed Hudson, adding she “was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track.”
In the statement, the coach questioned how the interview was edited after it took place to make it seem like they “were avoiding the question of how we met.”
Belichick said Wednesday that the couple met on a 2021 flight to Palm Beach, Florida. The admission matched an Instagram post from Hudson earlier this year, which she said they met in February 2021.
The eight-minute CBS interview with Belichick was about his life in football ahead of the release of his new book, “The Art of Winning” – set to be published by Simon & Schuster in early May.
Dokoupil asked Belichick how he handles the public’s “invested” interest in his relationship with his girlfriend.
“Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks,” Belichick said. “Just trying to do what’s best for me and what’s right.”
Belichick was then asked how the pair met. Hudson jumped in from off-camera, saying, “We’re not talking about this.”
Dokoupil later referred to the 24-year-old Hudson as a “constant presence” during the taping of the interview.
“The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career,” Belichick said.
“Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative – that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation – which is simply not true.”
CBS responded to Belichick’s statement later Wednesday, saying it was agreed upon to be a “wide-ranging” interview.
“There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement. “This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.”
The Tar Heels’ job is the first college coaching job for Belichick, who has won eight Super Bowls as an NFL coach (six as the head coach of the New England Patriots and two as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants), since he and the Patriots parted ways in January 2024.
In addition to 24 seasons with the Patriots, Belichick was head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995.
CNN’s Jill Martin has contributed to this report.
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