Bill Belichick’s name is not expected to surface in the Buffalo Bills head coaching search, and the reasons go beyond football.
According to NBC Sports' Mike Florio, NFL teams have grown wary of Belichick amid what he described as a “toxic” off-field environment that developed during the coach’s lone season at North Carolina.
Belichick, 73, is currently the Tar Heels’ head coach, but Florio reported that league executives are steering clear after a series of distractions that followed him to Chapel Hill. Among those concerns was attention surrounding his relationship with his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
Hudson became a national talking point after an April appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning,” during which she interrupted an interview and prevented Belichick from answering questions about how the two met and her role in his business affairs. While it was later clarified that Hudson was only assisting with personal matters tied to Belichick’s book tour, the episode fueled questions about judgment and boundaries.
Those concerns, Florio wrote, have lingered within NFL circles, including with the Bills, who are seeking a new head coach but are not expected to consider the six-time Super Bowl winner.
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Buffalo fired Sean McDermott earlier this month but are also not interested, Florio reported.
“He’s currently regarded as radioactive by most NFL teams,” Florio said, citing distractions at North Carolina and Belichick’s strained relationship with the New England Patriots, where he spent 24 seasons.
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Belichick owns 333 career wins — 14 shy of Don Shula’s NFL record — but finished 5-7 in his first season at UNC. With three coaching cycles passing and only one NFL interview since his Patriots departure, his pursuit of history, and the chase of Andy Reid, appears increasingly uncertain.
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