Julian Edelman Says Bill Belichick Would 'Always' Tell Him to 'Eliminate Distractions' Before He Started Dating Jordon Hudson (Exclusive) Skyler CarusoSeptember 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM 0 John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Michael Owens/Getty Julian Edelman alongside Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson.
- - Julian Edelman Says Bill Belichick Would 'Always' Tell Him to 'Eliminate Distractions' Before He Started Dating Jordon Hudson (Exclusive)
Skyler CarusoSeptember 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
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John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Michael Owens/Getty
Julian Edelman alongside Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson. -
Julian Edelman spoke with PEOPLE about whether he still stands by his claim that Jordon Hudson is a "distraction" to Bill Belichick as head coach of UNC-Chapel Hill Football
The retired New England Patriots star recalled advice that his former coach Belichick would tell him when they worked together in the league
Edelman also chatted about his work with Unisom to prevent NFL storylines from keeping fans up this season
Julian Edelman is giving Bill Belichick his own advice.
Now that his former NFL coach's season with UNC-Chapel Hill Football is underway, Edelman weighed in on the 73-year-old's relationship with Jordon Hudson.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Edelman, 39, shared whether he still stands by calling Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend a "distraction" that he can't afford as a new collegiate coach.
"Everyone has their life outside of the sport. What he always told me is that we had to eliminate distractions. So, I don't know. You could take what you want with that," the former New England Patriots wide receiver told PEOPLE of Belichick.
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Julian Edelman.
"I remember getting yelled at for being a distraction, so I think we're all in the business of eliminating distractions. That's just from what I learned from him," added the player, who's partnering with Unisom.
Prior to retiring from the NFL in 2021, Edelman was coached by Belichick for his entire 12-year career in the League with the New England Patriots from 2009 to 2020. Together, they won three Super Bowl titles.
In December 2024, Belichick joined the University of North Carolina as its head football coach. He made his collegiate coaching debut nearly a year later, on Sept. 1, and it got off to a rocky start with a blowout loss to TCU.
Though the stadium was packed with star-studded attendees, including Michael Jordan, Chase Rice, Roy Williams, Randy Moss and Hudson, the game ended in a major loss for Carolina as the TCU Horned Frogs won by 34 points.
While viewers have been opinionated about Belichick and Hudson's relationship since they started publicly dating in 2023, Edelman — who now doubles as a dad of an eight-year-old daughter and NFL analyst — is teaming up with Unisom to ensure fans don't lose sleep over the season's storylines.
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Bill Belichick and Julian Edelman on "The Tonight Show in February 2017.
"Unisom helps people put that all to bed. Allows you to get that real sleep you need, no tossing and turning," he said of the over the counter sleep-aid brand. "Sleep is so important. As an athlete, I know that for firsthand."
Elsewhere during his interview with PEOPLE, Edelman shared his thoughts on Belichick's debut as the Tar Heels' head coach.
"The first thing that came to my mind, 'They look great in that first drive'," he remembered. "Boy, did they look good. Man, Coach Belichick had them firing on all cylinders. Go down score, and then stop TCU, and then the dam broke and it just became a slaughtering for TCU."
What stuck out to the retired NFL star were the difference in players on each team.
"TCU looked like they had a bunch of really good football players, and North Carolina had 70 new players on the roster," he pointed out. "That's a lot of players, and they have some catching up to do in that talent department."
Still, Edelman said it "was exciting" to see Belichick back on the gridiron and coach.
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Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson attend the 14th Annual NFL Honors in New Orleans in February 2025.
"I was watching the game," he shared. "He did bring everyone's eyeballs to that game. It was good to see him follow up that first week with the win against Charlotte, which he needed to win, but we'll see how he does this week."
Meanwhile, Hudson — and her outfits — turned heads at the Tar Heels' first two games of the season as she supported her boyfriend. For the first two games, she wore a see-through purse that was filled with crumpled-up papers.
Some of the papers, as seen in multiple photos captured from various angles, appear to have highlighted words, though they couldn't be made out clearly.
The Maine native has a history of using her outfits to send cryptic messages.
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