Bill Belichick hasn’t yet coached a game at the University of North Carolina, but some, including WEEI’s own Ted Johnson, are already wondering just how long he’s going to stick there.
Belichick and 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson went viral over the weekend as a result of their disastrous appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning,” an interview that featured multiple instances of Hudson shutting down questions while sitting off to the side.
Belichick’s bosses at UNC apparently took note, with TMZ reporting on Monday that “folks at UNC are now concerned about Hudson's influence on Belichick's tenure as the head football coach in Chapel Hill ... especially with her, essentially, taking on a role as his manager.”
TMZ adds that there’s a “growing sense this could become a problem.”
Hudson took to Instagram on Tuesday to share an email from Belichick about their strategy to promote his new book, “The Art of Winning,” and teased a “full statement to be released later today.” As of the time this was published, said statement had not yet been released.
On WEEI Afternoons Tuesday, Johnson used his “Three-Point Stance” to criticize his former coach and say that UNC should already be considering firing Belichick. Listen to the full segment above.
“I've always been hesitant about that hire, because I hold college coaches to a higher standard than I do NFL coaches,” Johnson said. “When it comes to, morally, they are supposed to be leaders of men, set a good example, that kind of thing. So, that leads me to what's going on at UNC with Bill Belichick. I'm surprised that UNC never called Atlanta on why they passed on Bill Belichick in that hiring in Atlanta. My feeling is that the Atlanta Falcons are kind of looking at UNC going, you should have called us.
“And I say all that to say this: that I think the Carolina Tar Heels should consider firing Bill Belichick. They should consider letting him go at this point. It's a lot of money, and they're deep into their preparation for next year, but I look at Bill Belichick and I wonder if he's fit to coach an NFL team, let alone fit to coach a college team, which, again, I put more onus on the character and personality of a college coach than I do a pro coach. So, I'm worried that Bill Belichick just isn't fit to coach college kids, and UNC should consider cutting ties with Bill Belichick.”
While there have certainly been some rough looks PR-wise, co-host Andy Hart pressed Johnson on what Belichick has done that would actually be a fireable offense.
“I just think, just what you've seen so far,” Johnson responded. “The behaviors with Jordon, that dynamic, her being on the football field, her kind of just, I think, embarrassing Bill. People want to go, ‘Well, she's taking control of Bill.’ You think Bill doesn't have any say in how these things go? Of course he does. He's okay with what she's doing. He's okay with her. You don't think he knows that that email was being posted on her Instagram? Of course he knows. He's signing off on that.
“And so to me, those are bad decisions that make 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. I think it's just something you have to really, really consider. Just question the decision-making from the head coach at this point for those reasons.”