Bill Belichick Appears to be Having a Mid-Life Crisis
At the Ripe Age of 73
If you happened to be on the lookout for Instagram-celebrity-gossip porn in the past few days, you would be hard-pressed to do better than the clips of Bill Belichick’s interview attempt with CBS’s Tony Dokoupil. To be clear, Belichick has always had a gruff edge with the press, but what was new about this interaction was the look of total befuddlement.
Belichick was asked about the beginnings of his relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson (who has supposedly been wearing a big ring on her wedding finger in recent pictures of the two), and, well, I know of no other way to say it but to admit that he looked weak (and not in a good way) when she interjected on his behalf. “We’re not talking about this,” she told Dokoupil.
Things were almost more awkward for Belichick when he was asked about his new Instagram page and the reaction to pictures that have been posted of the couple. “What’s it been like?” he repeated, seemingly needing to gather some thoughts. Then he went on to admit that he doesn’t “follow” his own social media platforms.
As if it answers any of the interesting questions that the situation brings up, it has also been noted that apparently in addition to her role as girlfriend and maybe fiance, Hudson is also playing publicist for Belichick these days, and he has reportedly defended her speaking up during the interview.
Online rumors are now floating that maybe Hudson is a former escort, but my interest here is not particularly speculative about her and nor is it all that moral. Both Belichick and Hudson are “consenting adults,” i.e. the “golden standard” for sexual ethics, as I’ve been told over and over again in my educated circles for the past two decades.
What I find myself thinking about instead is how bizaare it is that the 73-year-old who is now the current North Carolina1 football coach seems so willing to hinge his late-in-life reputation and legacy on, well, a twenty-something fireball. Truthfully, this interview is only the latest head-scratcher from the last couple years. What is he doing?
I’m sure getting low-key “fired” at the end of his incredible run in New England and then passed on by a few other teams since was tough to stomach, but surely no one in their right mind would judge him for any of that on the other side of 70. I mean, sure, there is the “What did he ever do without Tom Brady?” question—especially after Brady won another won in Tampa Bay at the end of his career—but how serious can we really be about that when the guy is the all-time winningest head coach of one of the NFL’s most successful franchises? He already etched his way into history, and that’s more than most of us will ever do.
This all seems to point, though, to another blatant insight, given the nature of the guys’ decisions since parting with the Patriots. The championships, the money, the reputation: it wasn’t enough. Taking the job in Raleigh seemed a little odd, maybe even desperate, but you could almost cloak it as, well, he loves coaching or something. What else would he want to do at the end of his life?
Belichick was already dating Hudson when he took his current job, but for all we knew at that time it was a transitionary fling to prove that he’s still a man until he found something better to do. But now he has that something better to do, and the relationship appears to be lasting for now. If anything, the interview shows that Hudson is growing in her influence over the man who has long demonstrated publicly an image of being unmovable—by the press, by his players, by, well, anyone.
But now we know better.
I’m no psychological expert and obviously nor do I know him personally, but I will guess at his current psyche nonetheless. Because a person who is presently secure in who he is does not act the way Belichick is currently acting. Sports maybe more than about any other arena can mask identity issues; think the late 30s star who spirals after retirement from professional sports. Except, again, that this guy was a coach so he got to operate within his mastered craft for a lot longer. But who is he after the Patriots?
Furthermore, who would Belichick be if not a reputable football coach (and now dating a hot 24-year-old?) He is acting like a man who has no idea, like a man who is mid-life crisis-ing 25 years after it’s fashionable to have a mid-life crisis. I say that as a man who has a healthy amount of respect for the concept and perhaps necessity of mid-life seasons that un-do us so profoundly, but as such I won’t be at all surprised if we’re only seeing the beginning of Belichick’s humiliation, both in his attempts to publicly navigate this unorthodox dating relationship and this last-ditch attempt to prove that he can still win with the big boys.
I’m sure much will be forgiven if he wins at the college level (though I’m not at all convinced that he will), but I have to wonder what the Tar Heels’ athletic department is thinking about all of this at the moment. Assuming the relationship continues, Hudson will surely be center stage at their football games this fall.