Back during the ACC Spring Meetings in May, North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick was already deep in damage control mode.
The 73-year-old former Patriots coach was working to clean up his public image following a now-infamous CBS interview featuring his then-girlfriend and manager, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson.
In the interview, Hudson abruptly cut off a question about how the two met — a moment that instantly went viral and sparked a media frenzy that only recently began to cool down.
When asked at the time how Hudson was involved with UNC football, Belichick gave a short and sharp reply: “Really off to the side. It’s a personal relationship, and she doesn’t have anything to do with football.”
Since then, Belichick has done his best to quiet the circus. Hudson has mostly vanished from the spotlight, and subsequent interviews have been carefully managed. But that calm is likely about to end.
With ACC Media Days just around the corner, USA Today’s Matt Hayes believes Belichick’s carefully controlled PR bubble is about to burst.
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“We’re about two weeks from ACC Media Days, and there’s nothing North Carolina coach Bill Belichick or his muse — if Belichick calls his 24-year-old girlfriend his muse, so should we — can do about it,” Hayes wrote.
“No interrupting media from asking questions, no explaining after the fact that those asking questions knew the ground rules and ignored them, anyway. Or were too stupid to get it.
“No hiding behind the NFL shield or ESPN comfort blanket. No demanding to be treated differently because you’re Bill (and the Muse) and everyone else isn’t.
“The media days carnival bends the knee to no one. Not the greatest coach in NFL history, not his 20-something muse.
“This won’t be some cushy, softball interview from a network weekend morning show that randomly stumbled into an innocent question of how Beli and the Muse met.”
When Belichick arrives at the Hilton Charlotte on July 22, he’ll be met by more than 500 credentialed media members — many eager to ask about more than just football. Sure, there will be questions about his coaching staff, his plans for UNC, and his expectations for Year 1 in Chapel Hill. But there’s no doubt that plenty of attention will center on his relationship with Hudson and whether she still plays a role behind the scenes.
“Belichick, who isn’t exactly the most engaging coach with the media, will have to decide if he wants to filibuster or answer questions,” Hayes continued. “One option is just as painful as the other.”
Conference media days are known for chaos — where no question is too awkward, no topic off-limits. Years ago, reporters famously asked Florida quarterback Tim Tebow about his virginity. So what kind of questions could be in store for Belichick?
After months of trying to quiet the circus, the ACC Media Days might just turn the volume all the way back up for the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach.