Doubts growing about Bill Belichick’s potential return to the NFL

The news cycle that ensued following Bill Belichick's disastrous interview with CBS that made national headlines, may be leading to increased doubts about Belichick ever making a return to the NFL sidelines.

His contract with the University of North Carolina football has a stipulation that lowers his buyout clause from $10 million to $1 million. That change will take place in just a few weeks, so in theory, owners would be more interested in poaching Belichick from UNC. However, his personal life could be getting in the way.

Belichick has recently been involved in some bad publicity created by his peculiar relationship with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson and her apparent influence on his professional decision-making.

Albert Breer highlighted in a piece published to The MMQB why Bill's relationship may create reservations about hiring him amongst NFL owners.

"It's complicated," writes Breer. "Some teams will decide, like I think a couple did in January, to take easier, cheaper, more conventional routes. I’ve long thought an owner looking for credibility would take a real swing at landing Belichick in 2026. But I’m not nearly as sure about that anymore.

"Yes, it’s a free country," he continues. "Belichick can do what he wants. But we saw four years of what he looked like in the NFL without Tom Brady, and now we’ve seen half a year of what he looks like stripped of the infrastructure he worked so hard to build in Foxborough a quarter century ago. To me, that’s as relevant to his future as, and maybe more so than, whom he’s dating. Essentially, it’s not that he’s with a 24-year-old—it’s what he put her in charge of."

So, despite his historic NFL pedigree, the baggage that now seems to come with Belichick could outweigh the benefits he may bring. With Bill dubbing Hudson as his de facto publicist and her controversial influence on his public persona, Belichick has become too much of a public relations risk to be worth betting on the possibility that he'd be the football mastermind he once was.

In the end, even though teams will soon be able to buy Bill out of his deal for a discount, the troubles that he will bring along may supersede any impact he could eventually make on the gridiron.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.