University of North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick is speaking out about his new book, his decadeslong coaching career and his headline-making personal life.
Belichick acknowledged his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, in an interview Friday on "Good Morning America," saying she does the "business things" in his career while he focuses on football.
"She’s been through the whole process and she’s been very helpful to me," Belichick told "GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan in a live interview. "She does the business things that don’t relate to North Carolina that come up in my life so I can concentrate on football, and that’s really what I want to do."
Belichick added Hudson also helped him with the "business side" of his new book, "The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football," saying, "Sometimes I get a little football technical and so, you know, she did a good job of keeping me on balance there."
When asked by Strahan if he is happy, Belichick responded he is, but added he doesn't want to talk about his personal life.
"We have a good personal relationship," he said of Hudson. "I’m not talking about personal relationships, Michael, you know that."
Hudson was not present with Belichick at "GMA" on Friday.
The beauty pageant competitor and cheerleader made headlines recently when she interrupted a TV interview in which Belichick was promoting his book.
During the interview, which aired April 27 on "CBS Sunday Morning," Hudson, 24, spoke up after Belichick, 73, was asked by CBS' Tony Dokoupil how they met.
"We're not talking about this," Hudson said from the side, according to footage aired in the CBS segment, during which Dokoupil described Hudson as a "constant presence" throughout the interview.
The exchange made national headlines, and Belichick later issued a statement, saying he was surprised that "unrelated topics" were introduced during the CBS interview.
"After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion," Belichick said in the April 30 statement. "She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track."
Bill Belichick defends girlfriend after interview moment goes viralBelichick said the idea Hudson was attempting to control the conversation was a "false narrative."
Later that same day, a CBS News spokesperson released a statement, saying, "When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview. There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed."
Following the interview, reports emerged that Hudson was banned from the UNC football facilities, reports that UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham told ESPN are not true.
Belichick was named to the head coaching role at UNC in December following a decadeslong NFL coaching career that included eight Super Bowl wins, six as a head coach with the New England Patriots and two as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.
Belichick agreed to a five-year deal with the Tar Heels worth $10 million per season.
Belichick, whose father coached at UNC in the 1950s, said he is enjoying the change from coaching in the NFL to coaching a college team. He said the team has made "a lot of progress" and added he has not had to change much about his approach when it comes to coaching college players.
"They're so eager. They're hungry. They have dreams. They want to be good," he said of the UNC team. "I want to help make them good, and I want to help make, you know, make them good on a good team, so it's really been exciting to work with these guys."
Bill Belichick defends girlfriend after viral interviewIn "The Art of Winning," Belichick reflects on his long career in the NFL, including coaching star players like Tom Brady, and shares how he reached the pinnacle of football success.
"It’s not about how to live your life," Belichick said of his book. "It’s kind of about how I did my job."
Belichick said one secret to his success was making sure practices were harder than game days so players were ready for anything, and were not intimated by playing in a high-pressure game.
Another secret, according to Belichick, was proving a countercheck to the feedback his players were hearing.
"I always tried to be the balance on that," he said. "When things were bad, I tried to be positive. When things were good, I had a way of trying to bring things down and say, 'Look, don't believe the hype. We've still got a lot of work to do.'"
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