The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend Has Main Character Energy and It’s Breaking His Brand

• Molly McPherson

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Bill Belichick has always been a master of control—on the field, in the press, and with his own narrative. But this episode examines how that carefully crafted reputation is unraveling, not because of a fumbled statement, but due to the outsize influence of his much-younger girlfriend, Jordan Hudson. 

A viral CBS interview, public statements blaming the media, and confusion about her expanding “professional” role—all illustrate a pattern where the desire to squash uncomfortable questions only fuels more curiosity and suspicion for the current UNC football coach. 

Using the latest PR missteps as a case study, the episode spotlights the danger of losing control over the story to someone whose only real credential is main character energy. When boundary issues and amateur crisis management collide, even New England legends risk getting steamrolled by bad optics. The tension between protecting privacy and inviting chaos gets put under the spotlight, challenging listeners to recognize when a message stops being strategy and starts becoming farce.

In this episode:

  • The real cost of outsourcing reputation management to someone with minimal experience and maximum influence
  • Why blaming the media—and the audience—always backfires, no matter how famous you are
  • How losing internal boundaries blurs personal and professional roles, turning even legacy brands into tabloid fodder

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Molly McPherson:

Jordan was a constant presence during our interview. It's a topic neither one of them is comfortable commenting on. That's WBZ's take on Bill Belichick's car crash interview. You all know the story If you listen to this podcast. You know the story Because last week I discussed briefly Bill Belichick's interview with CBS about his book. Did you all know he had a book coming out? No, you probably still don't know, but this is what it's about Now. Wbz is an affiliate of CBS and they're the ones who did the interview with Tony DiCubo. He sat down with Bill Belichick and, of course, jordan Hudson.

Molly McPherson:

Bill Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend was in the background, but very much in control. This week's episode it's about control or, more accurately, the loss of it. Bill Belichick built a legendary coaching career on staying two steps ahead of his players, of the press, of anyone trying to pin him down. But now the man who gave us is on to something else entirely Awkward interviews, botched media deals and a girlfriend who's stealing the spotlight and rerouting his reputation. So today's episode is about Bill Belichick's girlfriend and her main character, energy, because, honestly, it is breaking his brand. Hey there, welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host, molly McPherson, and we have a PR breakdown this week. I have to be honest, I'm recording this only hours after I released the episode from last week. All about Bill Belichick. I also talked about Blake and Ryan and, of course, another sports story that seems so far in the past now, but Bill Belichick is breaking all the PR rules for getting out of a PR mess. This is now a story that has been extended in the news cycle. Why, because of the choices that he's making this week, no one is talking about Bill Belichick's football strategy. Everyone's talking about his reputation, and I'm talking about his reputational strategy and why Belichick, one of the most disciplined, controlled and successful coaches in NFL history, is suddenly in the kind of media storm he spent decades avoiding.

Molly McPherson:

Now, as I mentioned, the now-viral CBS Morning interview with Tony DiCupo, he sat down with Bill Belichick and asked the question that really any interviewer would ask. Cbs is having quite a run. We have Gayle King who honestly, I wonder if she did this interview. I bet maybe she wouldn't ask the question. I'm just saying I think Tony DiCupo is trying to make waves there as a journalist, but also the executive producer of 60 Minutes stepped down. He was basically shown the door because CBS is in the middle of trying to be acquired by Paramount. So there's a lot more at stake here. I don't know what CBS thinks of this interview. They're getting a lot of chatter, so it's probably a good thing, but anything that gets in the way of this potential merger becomes a problem.

Molly McPherson:

But the bigger problem is for Bill Belichick. He's been out there trying to promote his new book, the Art of Winning Lessons from my Life in Football. Try to remember that name, because you'll immediately forget it, because no one's going to remember the title of this book. All they're going to remember is the publicity tour in the run-up to publishing the book. And I'm so sorry to keep laughing, but this really is funny to me. I just posted on TikTok that this is my Super Bowl. I don't take glee in people's downfalls, but I like identifying problems that I see in my work as a crisis management strategist and seeing it on full display. And when it happens, in stories that everyone happens to be talking about, well, better yet, because now more people can learn the lesson. So, after Belichick left the Patriots after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl wins, all viewed in my living room, if you haven't heard me say it before, we're a New England family. My goodness, my kids. They grew up with the most iconic Boston sports teams out there, and Bill Belichick with Tom Brady were a big part of that conversation. But he's now the head coach at UNC, stepping into a college program for the first time in his career.

Molly McPherson:

But this book is not what people are talking about. They're talking about his 24-year-old girlfriend, jordan Hudson. She interrupted the CBS. Well, I don't even need to tell you. Take a listen, you have Jordan right over there. Everybody in the world seems to be following this relationship. They've got an opinion about your private life. It's got nothing to do with them, but they're invested in it. How do you deal with that? Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks. Just try to do what I feel like is best for me and what's right. How did you guys meet, not talking about this? No surprise, it went viral and it pulled the focus from the book and getting the book out there and setting him up to be a keynote speaker, which I can't imagine him as a keynote speaker. I don't know. It'd be interesting to see him, but I don't see him captivating a room quite like he's doing right now. But the topic that was brought up in the interview was how they met, which, when you have a relationship when there's nearly 50 years between the man and the woman, that's a talking point and one he could easily lean into and then move off of. But he didn't. He's stumbling on it because Jordan got in the way.

Molly McPherson:

And here's why this isn't just a media blip. It is now a reputational pattern and it's not going away. And Bill Belichick isn't the first to do this. Plenty of people and brands out there have done this. But let's break it down. One Belichick built his brand on control. That's who he is Short answers, zero emotion, tactical precision, zero Fs, that's the appeal. He doesn't need handlers, he doesn't let anyone near the narrative because he controls the narrative. But now two, that control has been outsourced.

Molly McPherson:

So, according to multiple reports, jordan Hudson not only interrupted the CBS interview, she reportedly delayed production, stormed off set and is copied on UNC coaching emails. This is not a private life, this is her influence in the operations of Bill Belichick, and three main character energy doesn't play at UNC, it really doesn't play in college football. The athletes they're the ones with the contracts, they're the ones trying to make it into the NFL. Coaches can be the narrative. Coaches can be the narrative. Coaches can be a part of the plot. Certainly, bill Belichick is going to be the fact that he went from the NFL. He and Robert Kraft had a disagreement. In the interview Belichick said it was a mutual decision, but Robert Kraft he very much is saying that Bill Belichick was fired.

Molly McPherson:

But this was going to be a unique era at UNC. They were going to get a lot of eyeballs, a lot of interest, sell a lot of tickets. There's going to be a lot of money and interest coming into UNC, but now they're turning into a laughingstock. It's turning into reality television. It's no longer about the SEC ecosystem. It's not about boosters and players and every recruit watching wanting to get into the program and instead of leadership they're just seeing confusion and blurred lines and a coach who looks like he's being managed by a girl who could have come out of UNC two years earlier but she didn't. She went to Bridgewater State en masse.

Molly McPherson:

But the response after the backlash from this interview, which I'm going to tell you, I noticed it right away. These things don't get by me. Not that long ago, belichick issued a formal statement through UNC. So I'm recording this episode last Wednesday, I'm traveling this weekend and also the following week, I have speaking of college. I'm going to my daughter's college graduation and then on Monday I'm speaking in Toronto gosh for a big event and the saddest part of it is Brian Adams cuts like a knife is going to be there. He's speaking like two hours after me and I have to get on a plane and fly to Chicago. I'm so bummed but it's a crazy week.

Molly McPherson:

But this is why I had to make Bill Belichick the topic again, because this statement just came out. Then I posted something to TikTok. Then his literary agent posted something online as well. It's incredible and it's the same tact that the statement from UNC is. And here's the message in sum CBS broke the terms, the interview was off topic. Jordan stepped in to keep it focused on the book and she was doing her job. Quote I agreed to speak with CBS Sunday morning to promote my new book, the Art of Winning Lessons from my Life in Football. Okay, pause for a moment. He put the book in the first line. This also tells me there is no way Bill Belichick wrote this statement. There's no way Jordan Hudson wrote this statement either. This came from someone, probably at UNC, who's very skilled in writing and also someone that probably hates their job at the moment. All right, going on.

Molly McPherson:

Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book. I just can't imagine that being a structured agreement in a contract. It may have been discussed and the language could have been to CBS and the producer. We want to focus on this book and they say sure it is, because most of the interview is focused on the book and Belichick's history, about his father and how he got into coaching most of the interview. But all he did, tony DiCupo is ask one question and it was the question that everyone was asking what's up with the relationship? All right, going back.

Molly McPherson:

Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated oh here, wait, that expectation. See, it was just an expectation. It wasn't anything more serious than that. It's not like it was a written contract. It was an expectation. What reporters are expected to ask certain questions? I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced. Really, bill, you were surprised that you were going to be asked about how you met Jordan Hudson, who is in the back of the room very much involved in the interview, my goodness and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, tony DeCouple, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. Throwing reporters under the bus, producers never a good look. You're guaranteeing that this is going to be a story.

Molly McPherson:

Now, after this occurred several times, jordan, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion. She was not deflecting any specific question or topic. Yes, she was, but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. But that raises another question what job she's his girlfriend? Now, on LinkedIn, it says that she's the CEO of Belichick Productions, but that's not even a CEO's job. Okay, she's a handler's job. Who are you, jordan? Who are you Jordan? Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordan and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021. Okay, no, everyone knows how they met because she posted it on social media.

Molly McPherson:

Deflecting blaming it never, ever works, and some of the clips make it appear it's not as if a producer mashed all the clips together. I hear that all the time from clients and in my trainings. Can't reporters go in and put and edit anything they want and to put it out there? Well, yeah, but it's not like it's an AI bot version of Bill Belichick. He said those things. That was a natural conversation that we saw Going back.

Molly McPherson:

The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation. You want to know what? 35 minutes is not a long time. It's not the last interview I did at ABC about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. I sat in there for an hour, for an hour, and I was probably in maybe four minutes of the segment. Eight minutes, that's eight minutes to 35. Cbs producers are doing a good job, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative that Jordan was attempting to control the conversation, which is simply not true. End quote People saw what people saw and blaming the media it's typical.

Molly McPherson:

It happens all the time. Now, it's not to give the press a pass. I understand it. I've worked on the other side. I've worked as a reporter, I've worked as a stringer. I was a contributor to Forbes up until recently, because hey, why do I need to do it for Forbes when I can just go to Substack and write my own stuff? But also, I'm with a reporter, someone who's an investigative reporter. We talk about this all the time. Now this statement comes amid a slew of negative headlines regarding his relationship, which began with this interview.

Molly McPherson:

On Wednesday, the Athletic reported that Hudson was instrumental in stopping HBO series. You know the series Hard Knocks. They were going to focus on the Tar Knocks. They were going to focus on the Tar Heels. They were going to focus on Bill Belichick. This was going to be a huge coup for him, but now that she's the COO of Belichick Productions, which doesn't seem to have any official business records. It was also previously reported that Belichick has asked at least one UNC staffer to copy Hudson on emails, despite her not even being employed by the university.

Molly McPherson:

This isn't just about one moment on camera. It is now a pattern. The hard knocks deal, which would have been great for UNC and great for Bill Belichick. It fell apart, and allegedly, from the athletic. It fell apart because of Hudson's involvement and demands for control. She's now very much a part of his public image and that's by design and that was designed by Jordan Hudson herself with Bill Belichick in complete compliance with it. She does not have a defined role, but she has maximum presence. And, jordan, she used to be a social media ambassador for Rebel Athletic and she's also a henna tattoo artist, but now she runs Belichick Productions. It's not to knock someone who's a henna tattoo artist or social media ambassador, but she's discipline and experience to manage his reputation.

Molly McPherson:

Jordan is trouble for the brand Belichick. They want a date, fine date, 50-year age difference, nearly 50 years fine, do that. But you cannot expect that age difference to not be a part of the story. It's impossible to contain and that's where the main character, energy, becomes a reputational liability. This is not about age, it's about boundaries. Belichick is no longer sole author of his narrative and in a space like college football, where your persona is part of your recruitment pitch, that matters. He also has his literary agency coming out and defending him as well.

Molly McPherson:

Inc Management released a statement on the heels of the Tar Heels statement. I don't need to read the entire statement because it's identical to what UNC said, but they're also pointing the problem, not just to CBS Sunday morning, but to you, anyone who cares about the story or who's following the story, even casually. It's your fault and my fault. Let me read part of this statement.

Molly McPherson:

Earlier this month, bill sat down with CBS Sunday Morning to discuss his book, his life in football and his perspective on how he has done his job which, by the way, that's exactly what the story was about. The nature and orientation of the discussion was known in advance to Bill and to CBS, and indeed Bill did talk football, and you know what? Indeed, cbs aired that. Indeed, cbs aired that. But the segment that was shown to the public veered into a discussion of Bill's personal life and away from the subject of his book, resulting in a raft of hostile social media posts about his personal life.

Molly McPherson:

That's not CBS's fault. That is not Tony DiCupo's fault. That is Bill Belichick and Jordan's fault. Jordan Hudson created this for Bill Belichick. Bill has written an authoritative and entertaining book about success that should be judged by its contents, not by the clicks generated by the segment. Again, blaming the internet and blaming you. Bill Belichick didn't lose control overnight. He handed it off and now the story's writing itself. If you want to build a brand that lasts know who's holding the mic, even off camera, I'm Molly McPherson, and this was the PR Breakdown. Bye for now.

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