Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has experienced a lot of changes in the past few years — from his career to his personal life. As he prepares for his first season as the North Carolina football coach, he sat down with Tony Dokoupil from “CBS News Sunday Morning” to discuss his dad’s influence in his career, drafting Tom Brady and several other topics.
Although he is not known for being a fan of interviews, Belichick was relaxed enough to wear a tattered Navy sweatshirt while his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, sat just a few feet away. His career is not over yet, but he recently published a book called, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.”
Here are the top five moments of the interview.
His girlfriend crashed the interview
Belichick has been dating Hudson for over two years. Although he is not big on social media, she has posted multiple pictures with him, including some on his 73rd birthday earlier this month, and some of him dressed as a fisherman while she poses as a mermaid.
Belichick described her as his “creative muse” in his book, and Hudson identifies herself as the “Chief Operating Officer of Belichick Productions” in her email signature. Their relationship is not a secret, but they are private about certain matters.
As Dokoupil put it, Hudson was “a constant presence” during the interview, and she jumped in when Belichick was asked about how they met.
“We are not talking about this,” she said without further explanation.
Their relationship has been controversial, particularly because of the age gap. However, Belichick is not concerned with outside opinions.
“I’ve never been too worried about what everybody else thinks,” he said. “I just try to do what I feel like is best for me and what’s right.”
No mention Robert Kraft in his book
Belichick spent 24 years working with Patriots owner Robert Kraft while helping the franchise win six Super Bowls. However, Belichick did not mention Kraft in his book, or even include him in the acknowledgments.
“It’s about my life lessons and football, and it’s really more about the ones that I’ve experienced directly,” Belichick said.
Dokoupil asked Belichick if he felt Kraft treated him with dignity and respect when they parted ways in 2023. Belichick didn’t say much except for stating that it was “a mutual decision,” although Kraft has stated that he fired him.
Belichick’s dad discouraged him from becoming a coach
His father, Steve, was an assistant coach at Navy for more than three decades, which explains why Belichick showed up to the interview with the Navy sweatshirt instead of representing the Tar Heels.
Belichick said he admired his dad and spent a lot of time around him as an only child. He said coaching seemed like a rewarding job and wanted to pursue it despite his father trying to discourage him from it.
“You are never going to make any money coaching. You need to go to business school, you need to get a job,” his dad told him.
Belichick doesn’t resent his dad for those comments because he was “just being real.”
Choosing Tom Brady
Belichick and Tom Brady are perhaps the most successful duo in NFL history, and their story began in 2000 when Belichick drafted him in the sixth round as the 199th overall pick.
Many other coaches passed up on him, but Belichick saw potential in him.
“Two things really: he was accurate and he was a very good decision maker,” Belichick said of Brady. “He got better every single day.”
Belichick: I could’ve been more ‘accommodating’ with media
During his time in the NFL, Belichick was known for being a tough coach to interview as he often didn’t seem too enthusiastic to have to answer reporters’ questions — no matter the topic. Looking back at it now, Belichick does admit he could have gone easier on some of those media members.
“I understand they have a tough job,” Belichick said. “On the other side, as a coach, you have a job to do, too. There are times when I could have been more accommodating. I admit that.
“You just gotta turn the page and more forward. As much as they want to dig deeper and deeper into the grave and see what more is down there, at some point you just gotta look ahead and move on.”
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