Fire your girlfriend: Paul Finebaum gets direct with Bill Belichick

North Carolina hoped that by hiring Bill Belichick, they could raise the profile of their football program, but so far this offseason most of the headlines around the coach have to do with his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.

The “idea mill” and “creative muse” in Belichick’s life, according to the coach’s new book, Hudson has played an outsized role in managing his public image as his unofficial handler, a role that Paul Finebaum thinks needs to be reconsidered immediately.

“I’m going to go where I shouldn’t go, but then again, we’re talking about Bill Belichick. He has fired coaches, gotten rid of great players, he separated from the greatest quarterback of all time. It’s time for Bill Belichick to fire his girlfriend,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s Get Up program.

“Listen, I’m happy for them, but North Carolina hired him because he’s a great coach, not to be a distraction. He’s a major distraction right now in this game of football. I’m sorry.”

There has been growing scrutiny around Hudson’s influence over Belichick in her role as his perceived publicist and handler, and the negative perceptions it has brought the North Carolina football program.

There has been considerable interest around the apparent influence Hudson has over Belichick after a series of embarrassing reports emerged involving her management of his image.

Those reports include claims that Hudson had emailed UNC’s staff about being more proactive about preventing criticism of Belichick.

Then, another claimed that Hudson had “demanded” to be named an executive producer on the prospective “Hard Knocks” program that was to be centered around the UNC football team.

That planned show was ultimately scrapped after execs balked at her request, depriving the football program of some national exposure it was hoping to get after hiring Belichick as head coach.

Then came that very awkward interview Belichick had with CBS where it was revealed she intervened to prevent him answering questions about how the two had met and their relationship broadly.

Some in Belichick’s family even appeared to express concern around Hudson’s influence, including the coach’s daughter-in-law, who reportedly criticized the 24-year-old for her behavior during Belichick’s CBS interview.

Then came another report that others in the Belichick family were “extraordinarily concerned” with the attention around Hudson, going as far as suggesting she could derail the reputation he’s built as a coach over decades.

But while such headlines can easily create a narrative during the offseason, Belichick has the chance to put that talk behind him in the fall by winning football games.

“Jordon Hudson. That’s been the distracting story all offseason,” Finebaum added.

“The games will help take care of that, as long as she’s out of the way, and Bill Belichick does what he does best: coach.”

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