New England Patriots legend Julian Edelman called out his former head coach, Bill Belichick, for forgetting a valuable piece of advice that he would always stress to his players.
Julian Edelman spent his entire playing career (2019 to 2020) with Belichick’s Patriots, helping them to three Super Bowl championships in his tenure. He caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl 49 against the Seattle Seahawks and earned Super Bowl 53 MVP honors after catching 10 passes for 141 yards in a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Belichick, 73, is in a highly publicized relationship with 24-year-old former competitive cheerleader Jordon Hudon. Their romance has generated plenty of media attention, due mostly to their giant 49-year age gap.
Hudson has faced widespread criticism ever since a clip surfaced of her interrupting Belichick’s interview on CBS’s “Sunday Morning” program. Hudson shut down a question about their relationship, and some critics have accused her of becoming too “controlling” and “distracting” for Belichick.
"We're not talking about this."
Jordon Hudson interrupts Bill Belichick's CBS Sunday interview when he's asked how they met pic.twitter.com/LvncZ88UVY
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 27, 2025
During an appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”, Julian Edelman criticized Belichick for ignoring the advice he gave his players about avoiding distractions:
“The No. 1 thing we used to talk about in New England was distractions. ‘Let’s not make distractions. The game’s already as hard as it is. To prepare for it, to play, to coach.’ And regardless of what her role is, Jordon, yeah, I thought he got an unfair public opinion on the whole thing, because that happens all the time.
Anytime we do behind-the-scenes this, that, you’ve got someone that represents you, they’re gonna jump in. But now that it’s gained and snowballed to what it’s become right now, where we’re talking about it three weeks later, it’s become a distraction. That’s what we all think now. This is becoming a distraction. We gotta practice as we preach here…
It’s getting to a point where we’ve got to start worrying about the ACC, we’ve got to start worrying about Dabo Swinney. We shouldn’t be talking about our girlfriend. And that’s how coach would say it to us. That’s the truth. When it comes down to running a football organization and playing football, let’s keep the main thing the main thing.”
During Belichick’s 24-year tenure as head coach (2000 to 2023), Patriots players were notably tight-lipped with the media and were awfully cautious with their words. And seeing the fallout of Belichick’s interview on CBS, it’s safe to say he forgot what he preached to his players: Avoid the distractions.
Julian Edelman Gives Bill Belichick The Advice He Needs
Belichick and Hudson can still maintain a happy relationship without creating unnecessary distractions. Belichick just recently started using social media, and he doesn’t have a problem with Hudson posting regularly about their relationship on Instagram.
He can still conduct interviews and make public appearances without unnecessary headlines. Belichick was known for rarely speaking to the media in New England, so maybe fewer interviews and pressers will do him some good.
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