Insider addresses if Jordon Hudson headlines could prevent Bill Belichick from returning to NFL

Multiple noteworthy members of the football community suggested this past winter that the buyout for an NFL team to grab head coach Bill Belichick from the North Carolina Tar Heels program dropping from $10M to $1M after June 1 indicates Belichick could return to the league as early as the first part of 2026.

However, such takes were offered before the 73-year-old living legend generated numerous headlines due to his relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson and also because of how the two reportedly handled a recent CBS News interview. 

For an article published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed whether or not some team owners may view Belichick differently today than they did at this time last year. 

"If you ask me now what the last week or so did to affect that, I’d say the equation in an owner’s head may have been altered a little bit. Or maybe more than just a little bit," Breer said about why he believes this offseason could "have an impact on [Belichick's] ability to return to the NFL" at some point. "...An owner would have to decide whether he or she would want to take on eight months of everything that comes with the greatest coach ever just to get to that first win, and maybe two or three seasons of having him on the sideline. Remember, the second Belichick is hired, he’ll become the face of whatever franchise he’s joining."

Along with quarterback Tom Brady, Belichick famously guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships from 2000 through the 2019 season. Brady then left New England as a free agent in March 2020, and the Patriots subsequently missed the playoffs three times over four campaigns before team owner Robert Kraft showed Belichick the door in January 2024. 

Following that divorce, the Atlanta Falcons were the only team that reportedly seriously considered hiring Belichick. Falcons owner Arthur Blank instead chose Raheem Morris for the job, and some believe Belichick officially accepted the North Carolina gig this past December largely because he thought NFL franchises would've again passed on him during the league's latest hiring cycle. 

That said, the New York Giants could be roughly eight months away from dismissing both head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Belichick earned his first two Super Bowl rings serving as an assistant and, later, as defensive coordinator with the Giants from 1979 through the 1990 season. Stories mentioned him as a potential replacement for Daboll back in January 2024. 

"Belichick can do what he wants," Breer added. "But we saw four years of what he looked like in the NFL without Tom Brady, and now we’ve seen half a year of what he looks like stripped of the infrastructure he worked so hard to build in Foxborough a quarter century ago. To me, that’s as relevant to his future as, and maybe more so than, whom he’s dating. Essentially, it’s not that he’s with a 24-year-old — it’s what he put her in charge of."

For a piece posted on April 30, Matt Baker, Andrew Marchand and Brendan Marks of The Athletic reported that Hudson "identified herself as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions" in a December 2024 email to North Carolina officials. That story also said that Hudson "has had an unofficial role at UNC since Belichick’s hiring in December, including being copied on some emails at Belichick’s request and other communications with UNC’s media staff."