Even with Michael Jordan and other Tar Heels royalty expected to be on hand for Bill Belichick’s North Carolina debut on Monday, it was the other Jordon — the coach’s 24-year-old girlfriend and de facto publicist — who was on the minds of fans before kickoff.
Hudson made her first appearance Monday as ESPN cameras caught her alongside Randy Moss, one of Belichick’s favorite former players, after the Tar Heels scored on the opening drive to go up 6-0 on Texas Christian (TCU).
The Jordon-fest didn’t stop there. One image posted by CBS college football reporter John Talty quickly went viral in the hours before kickoff.
‘Top 1 sign of all time?’ Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy responded on X.
The post shows a white flag with Carolina-blue lettering and silhouette — but not the famed Air Jordan image of the Chicago Bills legend jutting his legs outward as he soared to the hoop, ball in hand.
Rather, this flag read ‘Air Jordon’ and featured the silhouette of Belichick’s infamous beach yoga pic with Hudson, in which the 73-year-old laid down in the sand while lifting his younger girlfriend above his head with his feet.
‘The early winner for best sign [reporter Richard Johnson]and I have seen so far in Chapel Hill,’ read the post by Talty.
Hudson made her first appearance Monday as ESPN cameras caught her alongside Randy Moss, one of Belichick’s favorite former players, after the Tar Heels scored on the opening drive to go up 6-0 on Texas Christian (TCU)
Bill Belichick walks out onto the field as he prepares for his college debut against TCU
Air Jordon? UNC fans were quick to remind us of Belichick’s beach yoga pic with Jordon
Prior to the game, Hudson was seen chitchatting with one of Belichick’s greatest players, legendary NFL receiver Randy Moss.
Other references to Hudson included a personalized ‘Jordon’ No. 23 football jersey worn by one woman, and a t-shirt reading: ‘Hair Jordan: “We’re not talking about this.”‘
The quote is a reference to Belichick’s doomed CBS interview in which Hudson shut down any discussion of how the couple met after his fallout with ex-girlfriend Linda Holliday in 2023.
It sparked a huge debate over whether Hudson had bad intentions while being so close to Belichick.
His friend, the NBA great Charles Barkley, publicly said he would stage an intervention while Belichick’s former Patriots player Ted Johnson, who played five seasons under Belichick in New England, questioned his sanity.
‘To me, those are bad decisions that makes him and the university look really bad and question whether or not he is of sound mind and should be running a football team at the University of North Carolina,’ Johnson said of his old coach.
‘I think it’s something you have to really, really consider.’
But last weekend, a source close to the couple told Daily Mail that they are relishing getting back to business once the college football season begins.
‘Bill and Jordon are enjoying the next couple weeks together before he has to go full force into the upcoming season and focus all of his attention on that,’ the source explained.
‘Their time to hang out and go out to eat or go to any events together is not going to happen for a few months, because Bill is going into war. It is very important to Bill to make this work at UNC, and if they do well or very bad, it is all based on his preparation for the season.
‘Sure, Jordon will be at the games, but they are making sure that they will not be seen gallivanting around while the season goes on because Bill doesn’t want it to look like Jordon is a distraction.’
The source continued: ‘Bill is not worried one bit about his relationship with Jordon as the season starts to come to fruition.
‘They have each other’s back and if this all goes well or off the rails, he’s confident that she will be there for him the entire way. He has zero worry about her as he considers her a rock and a constant in his life that isn’t going to go away.’
After a half century coaching NFL football, the eight-time Super Bowl champion was finally making his college debut, although he was still up to his old tricks.
As noted by Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wolken, North Carolina’s media handout did not include a depth chart for the Tar Heels — something Patriots reporters will remember from Belichick’s secretive days in New England.
The issue resulted in some confusion and a few chuckles among the 20 scouts in attendance, according to ESPN’s broadcast.
Just like his illustrious tenure in New England, where he won six of his eight Super Bowl rings, Belichick’s arrival in Chapel Hill has proven to be a hot ticket. There are a number of Tar Heels legends expected among the sellout crowd of 50,500, including Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Lawrence Taylor, and Julius Peppers, not to mention singers Eric Church and Chase Rice, as well as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell.
Jordan, 62, is still a passionate UNC sports fan and he will no doubt be relishing the prospect of having someone with Belichick’s pedigree in charge of the school’s football team.
