You probably couldn’t talk much about what the North Carolina football team’s offensive talent looks like or who you think their top defensive players are. But we bet you’ve got an opinion on the situation surrounding head coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
The age-gap couple was already tabloid fodder before the NFL legend took the UNC job. Since then, however, they have been at the center of an ever-evolving story about what is going on behind the scenes with them and the football program. The reports and rumors were flying furiously for a time, with Pablo Torre breaking down the door on some of the most salacious details (and he may not be done). It has reached the point where several individuals with UNC-related concerns have come forward.
Michael Lombardi, the former NFL general manager and broadcaster, followed Belichick to UNC to become the football program’s GM (whatever that means these days). He was out doing some damage control on Saturday, telling ESPN Radio’s Marty & McGee that a lot of what’s being reported about his boss isn’t worth their time.
“I mean, a lot of it is just noise,” Lombardi said. “And for us to be distracted by something that has no bearing, that has no relevance whatsoever, that is a complete falsehood, in terms of what people are saying or what they’re writing. It’s comical. And for me, to really even attack anybody who’s saying it, gives them credibility. Which I don’t, because it’s a completely false narrative.”
While Lombardi might have been trying to invoke a “we’re not gonna give this the time of day” defense, he also couldn’t help but go on the offensive over some of the reporting that has leaked out.
“I mean, look, let’s face it,” he said. “One report had [Belichick] wasn’t supposed to be here [at] the beginning of June. And the next report came out that he was gonna go back to the NFL. I mean, it’s all just a bunch of stuff being thrown up against the wall. My job is to focus on North Carolina football, and Bill’s job is to focus on North Carolina football, and that’s what he has done, and that’s what I’ve done. And we’re gonna continue to do that. And the noise out there comes from a direction of people trying to be disruptive within our program. We’re not going to allow it. We’re not going to acknowledge it. We’re gonna move on. And look, let’s face it, the proof’s in the pudding. We’re having a tremendous recruiting class. We had a tremendous portal, and we’re going to continue to get better every day.”
Lombardi, noting that some of the news has come from “people trying to be disruptive within our program,” is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Lombardi was also asked about the infamous CBS interview that went off the rails when Hudson refused to let Belichick answer a question about how they met. Specifically, he was asked if they circled the wagons internally.
“We had no reason to circle wagons,” Lombardi said. “Everybody looked at each other and was like in complete amazement. I mean, so, we didn’t have any reason to circle the wagons. The reason we had was to focus on what we’re going to do, as Bill said in a lot of the interviews — and I don’t want to speak for Coach Belichick — but he said, ‘Look, Jordon does stuff in his business outside of North Carolina football, not here.’ I mean, it’s just completely a story that was generated from — basically, made up. I mean, it’s a tremendous, you know, you could be a great novelist, some of the people that report this stuff. So we had no, there’s no reason to circle any wagons. Look, when we play Clemson, we’re gonna have to circle the wagons. But we play TCU on the opening game, we’re going to have to circle the wagons. Those are competition. This is just noise.”
As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes, there were plenty of reasons to circle the wagons at that moment. Publicly disclosed emails showed that Hudson not only derailed that interview but also ensured that a Hard Knocks-style program about UNC football never happened.
Still, it makes a lot of sense that Belichick and his team will try to shut out the noise and focus on football moving forward. As for whether or not Belichick, the boyfriend, will allow Belichick, the coach, to take the lead, that’s the big question.