In some organizations, the CEO has a communications position that is focused solely on their communications. Their tasks often include handling media requests, writing speeches and managing the CEO’s social media channels, among other duties.
At the end of the day, their mission is to build and protect the CEO’s brand and not put themselves in the spotlight. However, that hasn’t been happening with Jordon Hudson, the girlfriend of University of North Carolina Head Football Coach Bill Belichick. She is currently serving as the de facto manager of “all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand,” as described by UNC.
For reference, her background, according to NBC, is in cosmetology, and she has spent about one year as a social media ambassador and model for a brand. Consequently, she doesn’t have the requisite training or experience typically required of her position, and it has shown.
While Hudson has had several public missteps, the one that has garnered the most attention was the infamous CBS interview in April 2025 for Belichick’s book tour. During the interview, the reporter asked Belichick how he and Hudson met. She interrupted off-camera, saying, “We’re not talking about this.”
That action became the main storyline [here’s a video example], which was unfortunate, since PR practitioners should never be the focus of the story. Belichick had to subsequently issue a statement that Hudson was trying to keep the interview on track. (As one outlet described it, she’s “a good girlfriend but a bad PR manager.”)
It’s the duty of a PR practitioner to train spokespeople to handle difficult or irrelevant questions prior to the interview. That way, the spokesperson can avoid saying the wrong thing, becoming defensive and saying, “no comment.” Thus, it would have been better to let Belichick handle the off-subject question, as he has done for years as a head coach.
Hudson also damaged her credibility in her tone of voice and choice of words. In the PR world, practitioners usually keep quiet during the interview (if they’re even present), other than to help provide clarity to poorly asked or misunderstood questions. But, if for some reason you feel so inclined to speak up, a better and more positive statement would have been, “We want to remain focused on the book during this interview.”