Bill Simmons, Pablo Torre discuss podcast beef, Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson: 'Coaches on [UNC]...are deeply concerned'

Bill Simmons and Pablo Torre embraced debate on Tuesday, battling wits beneath the gleaming lights of The Ringer's studio.

The main topics of choice: Their recent beef and Bill Belichick's dating life.

The two sports media megalodons found themselves at odds with one another after Simmons bashed Torre for his reporting on Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson, the 24-year-old former cheerleader whose name has lined newspaper columns for the past few months. On May 9, Torre released an episode of his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out," detailing how North Carolina brass was concerned about Hudson's influence in Belichick's personal and professional life.

Included in Torre's reporting was claims that Hudson was allegedly banned from school grounds and concern from Belichick's colleagues that she was actively harming his legacy.

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Simmons, a lifelong Patriots fan, took umbrage with Torre's reporting, as well as the subsequent interviews he did with publications like Vanity Fair and The Athletic.

On Tuesday, he took his talents to his biggest adversary's platform: Simmons' self-titled podcast. Suffice to say, he had a lot to get off of his chest.

Here's what you need to know.

Bill Simmons-Pablo Torre podcast highlights

Simmons and Torre locked horns in a nearly 90-minute conversation broadcast on Simmons' podcast. It was a discussion that was some parts fire, other parts ice, with both mocking the idea that they were "beefing" right off the top.

"Pablo Torre's here," Simmons said. "We're beefing, big beef."

"Which camera can I look into to stress how angry I am," Torre deadpanned. 

"We have a disagreement about this Belichick thing," Simmons continued. "I thought it would be fun to just to argue about it. Embrace debate, like old-school, 2010 ESPN."

Simmons went on to assert that Torre's reportage was in poor taste and didn't meet the standard for newsworthiness, while Torre disagreed.

Simmons' perspective was largely shaped by his fandom. The Boston native acknowledged that his admiration for the longtime Pats boss' coaching prowess made news of his contentious relationship with Hudson all the more difficult to swallow.

MORE: Pablo Torre-Bill Simmons beef, explained

"There's a small piece of this that felt a little mean to me because I don't know what's going on with him," Simmons said. "I think this is kind of alarming how this has gone. ... Something about this makes me uneasy."

Torre, meanwhile, laid out his journalistic praxis, explaining that, although he finds the Belichick-Hudson "stupid," much of the media landscape is shaped by journalists unearthing "interesting" developments on people deemed "significant" by the masses. In a sphere defined more by algorithms than actual people, such a perspective could prove profitable.

"That’s my perspective on how sports is both smart and stupid," Torre said. "And you know this. I’m in a building that is premised on your empire doing something very similar to that.”

MORE: Full relationship timeline for Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson

"It's true," Simmons conceded.

Torre also offered listeners additional context on Belichick and Hudson's relationship, as well as the furor it has inspired among those who interact with them. Torre even cited North Carolina general manager Mike Lombardi as one of the most concerned parties regarding Belichick and Hudson's romance.

"What if I told you that Bill Belichick's own family has been deeply concerned about this?" Torre said. "What if I told you that his inner circle of actual coaches on staff, including a certain Mike Lombardi, is deeply concerned about Jordon Hudson and her presence in the building?"

Torre explained that Belichick's arrival in Chapel Hill was accompanied by a hope that North Carolina would be getting the Belichick of old — a football savant whose knowledge of the game would propel the Tar Heels to new heights. Hudson's presence has changed that vision, Torre reported.

"The people around Belichick, professionally and personally, as well as the administrators at North Carolina — their life behind the scenes has been shaped, reshaped, blown up, by having to deal with Jordon Hudson," Torre said. "And when they hired Bill Belichick for this job, they thought they were getting New England Bill Belichick. They got — I cannot stress this enough — they got the exact opposite."

Belichick and Hudson's relationship continues to grab headlines. That dynamic is unlikely to change anytime soon, especially as the college football calendar gets a little more congested.

As far as Simmons and Torre go, it appears they've squashed their "beef" for now, even if neither moved off their original point of view much.