Bill Belichick’s publicist at Simon & Schuster assured the North Carolina football coach that his “CBS Sunday Morning” interview, which turned out to be a media disaster, would only be a “puff piece” to promote his new book, “The Art of Winning,” and that CBS producers assured them the interview would not go beyond the book, according to TMZ.
Senior director of publicity David Kass reportedly flew to North Carolina to convince Belichick to commit to the sit-down interview with CBS, as the former NFL coach had concerns that media outlets would try to use his book as a way to ask unrelated questions.
“I can assure you that the conversation [will be] about the book,” Kass wrote to Belichick in an April 9 email.
“This is a book segment that looks at your life in football and what people can learn from you to achieve success in their own lives.”
The day prior, he warned Belichick that CBS would not provide any questions in advance of the interview.
In another message, Kass told Belichick in writing that he had spoken with a CBS producer “about sticking to the book and shared that if they do, they’ll get a great interview, and he was really open, saying he’s not interested in going beyond the book.”
Although Belichick had his doubts, Kass emphasized, “I wouldn’t be this insistent if this wasn’t so important to book sales and without risk.”
He reportedly tried to set up a call with a show producers to “talk things through” before the actual interview.
What happened during the interview would soon turn into a PR nightmare.
Belichick’s interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil aired April 27 and showed things going off the rails when his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, interrupted a question about how the couple met — telling Dokoupil, “we’re not talking about this” as she sat alongside producer Gabriel Falcon.
Prior to the April 21 taping of the interview, Kass warned Belichick on March 26 “there would likely be one question about what you’re up to now.”
Belichick, 73, was asked multiple questions about Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is not mentioned in the book.
Dokoupil asked at least two questions about Hudson, whom Belichick refers to as his “idea mill” and “creative muse” in the book — but she wouldn’t allow it.
At one point, Hudson reportedly tried to call Kass as the interview went aray, but she couldn’t reach him.
After the CBS interview aired, multiple reports said Hudson was trying to control Belichick’s career to further her own.
Belichick released a statement after the fallout and explained that Hudson — who manages his opportunities outside of UNC football — stepped in to refocus the interview on the book.
“Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book,” Belichick said.
“Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
“The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.”
Journalist Pablo Torre reported that UNC coaches and staff, as well as Belichick’s family, are concerned about his relationship with Hudson, a former NCAA champion cheerleader at Bridgewater State University.
Last month, Belichick and UNC issued a statement and specifically denied Torre’s claim that higher-ups at UNC banned Hudson from the team’s facility.
Kass has yet to publicly address the situation.
Simon & Schuster declined to comment to TMZ on Tuesday.