UNC players have dismissed suggestions that Bill Belichick’s romance with Jordon Hudson has been a ‘distraction’ ahead of the new college football season, insisting they rarely see the 24-year-old.
The legendary NFL head coach – a six-time Super Bowl winner – is preparing for his first year in charge of a college program.
But his tenure has been dominated by his relationship with Hudson, 24. There have been explosive reports about her influence over Belichick, 73, while UNC was forced to deny that Hudson had been banned from the facility.
The spotlight around the relationship intensified after Belichick’s disastrous CBS interview, when Hudson cut in to block a question about how they met.
On Thursday, however, Belichick insisted the furor was all ‘noise’ and his players also played down Hudson’s interference.
‘It was never a distraction, never an issue, never a problem,’ receiver Jordan Shipp told ESPN. He revealed that he would often eat with the wife of former coach Mack Brown, adding: ‘If anything, I feel like it’s not a distraction because it’s always good to have somebody in your corner in the building, just knowing they support us.’
UNC players insist Bill Belichick’s romance with Jordon Hudson has not been a ‘distraction’
Belichick’s relationship with the 24-year-old has dominated his tenure in North Carolina
‘It was never a distraction, never an issue, never a problem,’ receiver Jordan Shipp said
Shipp continued: ‘Social media can promote some narrative, but that was not a distraction to us at all… there was never a problem.
‘People (were) saying she was running practice. We’d never really see her in the building. That was never a problem… we support Coach B no matter what he’s doing.’
Quarterback Gio Lopez echoed those sentiments, insisting the legendary Patriots boss was nothing more than a ‘normal guy’ and a ‘normal coach.’
‘I log on my phone and see something about Coach Belichick, so it is different, of course,’ Lopez told ESPN.
‘But you’d never think that about him. He’s a normal guy, a normal coach. That’s how he carries himself. He’s very personable, not worried about the spotlight. He just does his job.’
