Bill Belichick has yet to coach a game at North Carolina, and there are already rumors swirling that the legendary coach could leave the program before that happens.
As Belichick prepares for his first ever college football season, the majority of the headlines about the 73-year-old have pertained to his relationship with Jordon Hudson. Pablo Torre reported last week that UNC has tried to put an end to some of the media circus by banning Hudson from the team’s facility. North Carolina officials immediately responded by insisting the 24-year-old Hudson is still welcome around the Tar Heels.
Torre discussed his reporting during a Monday appearance on “The Dominique Foxworth Show.” When asked if he thinks Belichick will still be the head coach at UNC come Week 1, the former ESPN host said there is “an absolutely real chance” that Belichick will leave.
“I think there’s a chance, an absolutely real chance, that he doesn’t,” Torre said. “The reason I say that is because even before the Jordon Hudson thing became as public, even before it went from messy backstage to obviously messy everywhere, the date that matters the most is June 1. When this contract was reported, when the terms of Belichick’s Carolina contract that made him the highest-paid public employee in the state were announced, everybody who follows contractual language pointed out that on June 1 the buyout of Bill Belichick goes from $10 million to $1 million if Bill wanted the escape hatch.
“The question everybody is asking is are things so dysfunctional behind the scenes when it comes to the power struggle, when it comes to what they’re telling Bill to do: Don’t have Jordon around anymore; stop behaving in the way that you have. Basically, telling him for the first time really that you’re an employee and not the boss of this building in the way that he may have been assuming that he would be.”
Torre also pointed to the supposed concern that both UNC officials and Belichick’s family have about Hudson’s influence over the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Do you think Bill Belichick makes it to Week 1 with UNC after the recent reporting about his relationship with Jordon Hudson?
— The Domonique Foxworth Show (@FoxworthShow) May 12, 2025
"I think there's an absolutely real chance that he doesn't." – @PabloTorre 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/tzRhlklOeS
The spotlight on Belichick’s relationship with Hudson became even brighter last month when Belichick sat down for an interview with Tony Dokoupil of “CBS Mornings.” Hudson sat nearby during the interview and was described by CBS’ narrator as a “constant presence.” She awkwardly interrupted at one point when Belichick was asked about how he and Hudson met (video here).
That interview generated so much attention that Belichick felt the need to issue a statement defending Hudson.
Most people have assumed that Belichick’s small buyout would only come into play if he received an offer to return to the NFL. The idea that he might leave UNC before coaching a game because of his relationship with a woman who is young enough to be his girlfriend is not something that anyone ever envisioned becoming a talk point.
