In his legendary autobiography, the opening chapter of which he penned in 1771, Benjamin Franklin wrote the following: “Indeed, I scarce ever heard or saw the introductory words, ‘Without vanity I may say,’ &c., but some vain thing immediately followed.”
In like manner, when a journalist claims that his scandalous-sounding story about 73-year-old NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick and Belichick’s girlfriend, 24-year-old beauty queen Jordon Hudson, has nothing to do with the age gap in their relationship, one may safely assume that the journalist well understood that said age gap would drive public interest in the story he pursued. That fact alone, of course, does not invalidate the reporting. But it should lead us to weigh evidence both for and against the unusually paired couple.
Thus, having dispensed with false disclaimers, one may begin to examine the reasons why, according to journalist Pablo Torre, Belichick, entering his first season as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, might not even last long enough in his current position to coach in the Tar Heels’ 2025 season opener, still nearly four months away.
Friday on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast, Torre presented the results of his investigation into Belichick’s situation at UNC. According to the New York Post, the university could consider parting ways with the coach even before summer arrives. And if that happens, Hudson will have played a major role in the breakup.
“The reason I say that is because even before the Jordon Hudson thing became as public, even before it went from messy backstage to now, obviously messy everywhere, the date that matters the most is June 1,” Torre said on his show, per the Post. On June 1, the buyout price on Belichick’s UNC contract will drop from $10 million to $1 million.
“… 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 are 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 he would be, then there is the ability for him to get out of it,” Torre added.
“And that’s before you even consider the fact that stuff is so crazy when it comes to how his family feels, how the people around the school feel, that there’s this larger, ‘Hey, so coach met this woman when she was 19 years old on an airplane, and now she’s kind of running his public image as his girlfriend. Is this something that’s sustainable? Is that fireable? What does he have to do to get fired?’ These are all active questions,” the journalist continued.
Meanwhile, when asked about Belichick’s potentially bleak UNC future on Monday’s episode of “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” podcast, Torre reiterated his assertion that Belichick might not survive as UNC head coach beyond June 1.
“Absolutely,” Torre said in a clip posted to the social media platform X. “June 1st, man. Look at that contract.”
Will Belichick make it to coach a game for UNC?
Later in the same clip, Torre turned his attention to Hudson.
“This is not a story about an age-gap relationship,” the journalist insisted. “This is the story about power and who gets it.”
“And everybody around Belichick got walked over by a very ambitious young prodigy named Jordon Hudson, who is driving that program into the ground,” the journalist added.
Bill Belichick might never coach a game at North Carolina @PabloTorre pic.twitter.com/6ZnL5Vk2Kj
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) May 12, 2025
Readers who wish to view Torre’s full Friday podcast episode may do so in the YouTube video below.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar and suggestive language that may offend some readers.
The key takeaway from Torre’s reporting, of course, involves the prospect of UNC buying out Belichick’s contract after June 1. Should that buyout occur, according to Torre, Hudson’s “power” grab will have facilitated it.
Let us now examine reasons both to believe Torre’s reporting and to treat it with skepticism.
First, as to treating it with skepticism, one must always acknowledge the possibility of sensationalism. For instance, what if Belichick had a 60-year-old girlfriend who allegedly rubbed people the wrong way at UNC? Would anyone have bothered to investigate?
Moreover, the possibility of sensationalism increases in likelihood when one finds in the coverage of Torre’s story much innuendo but scant real evidence of Hudson’s allegedly insufferable behavior.
For instance, Torre, based on conversations “with 11 sources who have dealt with Hudson,” claimed on his show that UNC had banned Hudson from its facilities, per the Post.
The university, however, issued a statement refuting that claim.
“While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities. Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University,” the statement read.
Secondly, Torre quoted someone whom the Post described as a “Belichick family insider.”
“There is deep worry for how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill’s legacy, reputation — everything he has built and worked for over decades,” the insider said.
Would all of my relatives paint a flattering picture of me? How many of them, even the closest ones, know enough to evaluate my motives?
Of course, readers may view the entire podcast episode above and conclude that Torre’s story sounds bad for Belichick. In the reporting on said episode, however, one hardly encounters evidence that rises to the level of a bombshell.
On the other hand, at least two pieces of evidence gave Torre’s story substantial credence.
First, note the framing of UNC’s statement. It began with a reference to the fact that Hudson does not work for the university or its athletic program. If everything were hunky dory between Belichick and UNC, would such a reference have been necessary?
Second, in his interview on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” posted above, Torre noted something interesting.
“The NFL has no desire to get into business with Bill Belichick,” the journalist said.
That fact seems indisputable. After all, when the New England Patriots fired their six-time Super Bowl champion head coach following a 4-13 season in 2023, Belichick attracted very little interest around the league.
Why would a man generally regarded as the greatest head coach of all time fail to land another NFL job? It has nothing to do with age. After all, the Las Vegas Raiders recently hired 73-year-old Super Bowl-winning head coach Pete Carroll. It seems probable, therefore, that NFL teams looked into the situation with Belichick and Hudson, whom the coach met in 2021, and did not like what they found.
In short, while acknowledging the possibility of sensationalism coloring any story involving Hudson, and while giving the 24-year-old the benefit of the doubt based on evidence that hardly rises to the level of scandalous, one must concede that Torre’s story about Belichick’s potentially bleak future at UNC has some smoke, and behind that, in all likelihood, fire.
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