As North Carolina has stumbled to a 2-2 start to the Bill Belichick era, Jon Gruden is bringing out the receipts.
On Monday’s episode of Wake Up Barstool, the Super Bowl-winning head coach was asked if he’s ever witnessed something like Bill Belichick receiving an apparent pep talk from his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, before the Tar Heels’ 34-9 loss to UCF on Saturday. And after joking that his wife once aided his efforts with a play call during a Las Vegas Raiders overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football in 2021, Gruden turned his attention toward Belichick and his staff.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” the Barstool Sports personality said of the viral interaction between Belichick and Hudson. “You know, Mike Lombardi works for North Carolina. I’ve heard him criticize me several times. I’m sure he’ll produce a TikTok today explaining exactly what was going on there.”
To Gruden’s point, a quick Google search shows multiple instances of Mike Lombardi criticizing the former Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach during his previous life as a media personality. It’s also worth noting that the two worked together during Gruden’s first stint as the Raiders head coach from 1998-2001 before the Buccaneers acquired him in a trade ahead of the 2002 campaign — a season that ended with Tampa Bay beating Oakland in the Super Bowl.
As for the dig at Lombardi’s TikTok videos, that appears to be a shot at the 66-year-old’s social media presence, which he has maintained in the months since joining Belichick as North Carolina’s general manager. After Lombardi previously proclaimed the Tar Heels as the NFL’s “33rd team,” North Carolina doesn’t even look like a program that’s ready to compete in the ACC. But while the Tar Heels might remain irrelevant on the field, that won’t stop Belichick’s debut college season from remaining one of the biggest stories off of it.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.