During one of the longest weeks of his career, Bill Belichick fumbled and stumbled during and after his cringey interview with CBS. Former players and NFL pundits asked: How can the 73-year-old coach put his career and legacy in the hands of 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson?
Sources tell Front Office Sports Belichick’s biggest problem is the absence of his secret weapon: Berj Najarian.
During Belichick’s 24-year run with the Patriots, Najarian stood by his side as the coach’s “consigliere,” according to the New York Times. One of his official titles was “chief of staff.” But reporters knew Najarian as the “gatekeeper” for the six-time Super Bowl–winning coach, according to the Times—and as Belichick’s “right-hand man” per CBS News. Belichick largely delegated his media relations to Najarian, allowing him to focus on football. As director of football/head coach administration, Najarian handled damage control from mundane stories to crises like Spygate.
The two first met when Belichick was coaching the Jets. After bringing Najarian with him from the Jets to the Pats, the duo won six Super Bowls together. Belichick and Berj had connecting offices at 1 Patriot Place. Najarian had a “ton of power,” recalled former quarterback Drew Bledsoe to the Times. “Berj worried about stuff so Bill didn’t have to,” he said.
When Belichick was fired by Pats owner Robert Kraft in early 2024, Najarian joined former Patriots OC Bill O’Brien at Boston College as chief of staff. That left Belichick adrift without his key media advisor and protector. Since then, Belichick has tried to put Hudson in Najarian’s role, according to former Pats players like Julian Edelman. “From what I’ve heard, Jordon is playing the Berj role,” Edelman said on his podcast with Rob Gronkowski.
That’s led to obvious problems since the ex-cheerleader doesn’t yet have the training or experience to pull it off.
“Belichick has had a personal PR guy for 20 years. But he doesn’t have Berj anymore,” said one source directly familiar with Najarian’s confidante role with the Pats. “Berj works for Bill O’Brien at BC now. So Bill’s all by himself.”
This source doesn’t buy that Belichick was responsible for the email posted by Hudson on April 10, which uses the word “title” instead of headline for a story about his book, The Art of Winning, in The Boston Globe. The email also has a “Berj” CC’ed.
“My sense is he assigned Jordon to help on this stuff. But she doesn’t know what the fuck she doing. That email which she alleges he wrote—which clearly she wrote—is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read,” he told FOS. “Do you think, in any world, that Belichick would think that he has a say in what the Boston Globe writes? That he would have a say over the ‘title’, which is actually a headline, which is something he’d know? There’s no way he would have anything to do with that.”
Belichick on time and ready to go. Flanked by Stacey James and Berj Najarian. pic.twitter.com/hGU2BSSixT
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) March 28, 2022
As Hudson did during the infamous CBS sitdown, Najarian tended to quietly hover while Belichick conducted big interviews. He’d also let Pats beat reporters know when the boss was displeased. But none of Belichick’s Pats interviews turned into a fiasco the way the CBS sitdown did, with Hudson angrily telling Tony Dokoupil the couple would not answer questions about their relationship. She also allegedly stormed off the set, causing a 30-minute delay. That violated the first rule of media management: Never make yourself the story. It was no accident, say sources, that CBS slyly paid Hudson back by airing footage of her scowling and noting she was a “constant presence.”
The gruff Belichick never cultivated many friends inside or outside the media. He keeps a tight inner circle. Other factors fuel his image downfall.
Despite his tense relationship with the NFL, sources say Belichick also misses the protection of the league’s powerful PR arm and the Pats. While Belichick was still protected by the long shadow of The Shield, media members had to walk on eggshells. They needed access to the league’s most successful coach and a dynasty that reached nine Super Bowls. Whoever is handling his media relations now is no match for communication gurus like Brian McCarthy or Alex Riethmiller at the league office, or Najarian and Pats VP of communications Stacey James. Those days are over. Once all 32 NFL franchises passed on hiring Belichick, the intimidation factor evaporated.
Belichick has probably never been called a liar in his life. But that’s what CBS did Wednesday after the coach drew first blood by issuing a statement, via UNC, accusing the network of “selectively” editing footage to create a “false narrative” around Hudson. CBS denied it, countering on X/Twitter: “When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview. There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation.”
The eight-time Super Bowl winner also claimed he stipulated all book-tour interviews “focus solely on the contents of the book.” Never mind that it would be highly unusual for any news organization to agree to such a deal, especially when Hudson was sitting a few feet away. Unfortunately for Belichick, the back-and-forth only reignited the news cycle. As another source asked: “If she didn’t want CBS to ask about their romance, why was she there?”
In his statement, Belichick said he shares a “personal and professional relationship” with Hudson. That confirmed the opinion of former players who say Hudson has been asked to juggle multiple roles as PR advisor and agent as well as girlfriend. Both Edelman and Rob Gronkowski said the beauty queen is being treated unfairly on their Dudes On Dudes podcast.
“From what I’ve heard, Jordon is playing the Berj role—handling all the football ops, handling a lot of his social, a lot of his PR,” Edelman said. Gronkowski agreed: “She’s becoming his representative on top of being a girlfriend.”
They have a point. Unfortunately, the picture is coalescing around the image of a whipped Belichick meekly submitting to a young girlfriend. Some ask if Belichick—the ultimate control freak—is even involved in the various emails, statements, and social media posts—or if Hudson is really calling the plays for the iron-fisted coach who formerly struck fear into the toughest football players.
As Belichick’s former player turned ESPN analyst Damien Woody tweeted: “Dude had us damn near brainwashed when it came to the media in NE & now he can’t even follow his own script.” Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson went further, saying the Tar Heels should consider cutting ties with Belichick. “I’m worried that Bill Belichick just isn’t fit to coach college kids,” he said on a radio interview.
Najarian rarely does interviews. When I asked him for one, he politely emailed back: “I appreciate the opportunity but am going to pass.” UNC spokesman Justin Wilson emailed that the university had no additional comment beyond its Wednesday statement.
Still, the more involved Hudson becomes in Belichick’s book tour, business and football program, the more this story will continue. The mockery has begun. Netflix’s Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney just spoofed Belichick and Hudson’s trainwreck CBS interview. Even the live-and-let-live Charles Barkley said he’s “concerned” about his “great friend” Belichick.
“I’m not sure what’s going on…He has to be very careful right now. This is starting to be on a slippery slope,” Sir Charles told Dan Patrick.
