Getty Patriots former coach Bill Belichick
We expected former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to remain in headlines following his departure as the team’s mentor and leader for the last 24 years. But the feeling was, generally, that he would do so as the coach of some other prominent NFL team—perhaps the Cowboys, a job to which he was connected, perhaps the Falcons, a job for which he interviewed.
Instead, here was are in late June and we find the austere and oh-so-serious coach heading up the latest episode of the Real Boyfriends of the NFL Offseason.
For the football-inclined among us, Belichick is a Patriots icon and, indeed, an NFL icon after leading New England to an incredible six championship rings in his Patriots tenure, most of any coach. He is one of three coaches in NFL history to win 300 games, notching his 302nd win during last year’s moribund Patriots season. Only George Halas and Don Shula (with 328) rank above Belichick in all-time wins.
He is nothing, if not a distinguished and revered member of the NFL family, even after he and the Patriots agreed to part ways this offseason following a 4-13 year.
Bill Belichick Raises Eyebrows With New GF
All right, that’s the NFL version of Belichick’s offseason. Now for the Bravo TV bit.
Belichick and longtime girlfriend Linda Holliday broke up earlier this year, after a 16-year relationship which saw the former TV personality take over the director’s role at the Bill Belichick Foundation. At the time, Holliday was a younger woman than the coach—by 11 years—but the difference between Holliday (who is 61 now) and Belichick (who is 72) was rarely a matter for conversation.
Enter Jordon Hudson, the 24-year-old competitive dancer who met Belichick on a flight and has since, according to multiple reports, been dating him. This, according to a longtime Patriots rival and two-time Pro Bowl lineman Mark Schelreth, is beyond disgusting.
Schlereth, a well-known media commentator, let loose on Belichick in a rant on 104.3 in Denver.
Speaking to his co-host, Denver broadcasting fixture Mike Evans, Schlereth said, “Your daughter is what, 21?”
Meanwhile, Evans said, “Gross! Gross!”
“A 72-year-old man? I’d punch him,” Schlereth said. “What is wrong with you?”
Patriots Coach Dubbed a ‘Pig’
All right, that makes pretty clear where Schlereth, who won three Super Bowls with the Broncos, stands on Belichick and Hudson. But, of course, in any Real Boyfriends situation, the more said, the better. And Schlereth had more to say.
“I think he’s a pig,” Schlereth said, per Awful Announcing. “That’s disgusting…That’s just awful. What are you doing? Plus, you just look like an absolute clown.”
“What is wrong with you?” Schlereth asked later in the show. “He was 48 when she was born? She was a baby, and he was 48.”
While this may seem like a harmless dalliance for both Hudson and Belichick, a relationship that no one should take all that much interest in given that it’s really nobody’s business how two adults choose to spend their time, there could be some concern about whether this affects Belichick’s standing as a future NFL coaching candidate.
One of Belichick’s strong suits, after all, has always been his gravity. But can he maintain that gravity after this, after star former opponents like Schlereth call him a “pig”? It’s worth considering, no doubt.