Bill Belichick made it as clear as he could: His girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, “doesn’t have anything to do” with North Carolina football.

Appearing on ESPN on Tuesday to discuss the coming 2025 Tar Heels season, Belichick, 73, responded to a question regarding his 24-year-old girlfriend and whether she has affected his ability to coach as he gets set for his debut year in Chapel Hill.

“That’s really off to the side,” Belichick said, emphasizing that “it’s a personal relationship.”

A six-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the New England Patriots, Belichick signed a five-year, $50 million contract to become the UNC head coach in December. While that created excitement around Chapel Hill, much has been made of his relationship with Hudson — particularly after Belichick’s “CBS Sunday Morning” interview last month, when Hudson stopped the discussion following a question regarding how the two met in 2021.

After that, a report surfaced that Hudson was banned from campus, although UNC released a statement last week denying the claim. Rather, the university said, Hudson would continue to manage “all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina football and the university.”

Belichick certainly has some work ahead of him after the Tar Heels went 6-7 in 2024 in Mack Brown’s last season. More than 70 players from that team have departed and around 40 new faces arrived via the transfer portal.

Still, Belichick said, UNC progressed well during spring practices.

“Hard-working group,” Belichick said, “really care, been very responsive to what we’ve asked them to do.”

The Tar Heels have not won an ACC championship since 1980.

–Field Level Media