Earlier this month, public emails revealed Belchick had fears of being viewed as a "predator," while Hudson worried the hiring of his son, Steve, as his defensive coordinator would be seen as nepotism, the Athletic reported. Belichick asked for Hudson to be copied on emails sent to him since his surprising decision to take over as the Tar Heels' head coach.

“Is there anyone monitoring the UNC Football page for slanderous commentary and subsequently deleting it / blocking users that are harassing BB in the comments?” Hudson wrote in a Feb. 13 email obtained by the Athletic.

“I cannot believe that UNC would support my being called a ‘predator,’” Belichick responded in an email the next day.

UNC reportedly didn't find any references to Belichick being called a predator, according to the Athletic's report.

Robbi Pickeral Evans, who serves as UNC's senior associate athletic director for external affairs and strategic communications, did, however, reassure the couple that the school “hid or erased a comment about their personal life and would continue to block, ban or hide similar remarks,” the report states. Evans called the term "incredibly inappropriate, and as you noted below, UNC would NEVER support" it while addressing the "predator concern."

Steve Belichick, 38, had previously worked under his dad in various defensive roles for 12 seasons with the Patriots before spending the past season as the University of Washington's defensive coordinator following his father's firing after 24 seasons.

“Though Steve Belichick is in fact Bill’s son, he should be depicted and represented as his own established, credible entity as opposed to an extension of Bill,” Hudson wrote in a Dec. 22 email regarding the hiring. “It can be easily misinterpreted that Steve is simply benefiting from nepotism but that is not the case. Steve was fortunate to have learned defensive football strategy from the ‘greatest defensive mind’ of all-time. He has earned his position due to his performance and output.”

Hudson added that she wanted the school to avoid using photos of the Belichicks together and avoid referring to him as "Bill's son."

“It is really worth emphasizing the point that Steve has the experience of being a COLLEGE defensive coordinator and will bring a plethora of knowledge to the coaching staff,” Hudson wrote. “I believe being strategic about the depiction of the Steve (sic) will prevent controversy and show upmost (sic) respect towards Steve’s career, validate Bill’s decision as a HC to hire Steve.”

Bill's other son, Brian, was also hired to his UNC staff as a defensive backs and safeties coach after nine seasons with the Patriots, which included 2024 under his father's successor and former linebacker Jerod Mayo, who was fired after one season. Brian, however, wasn't mentioned in the emails by Hudson, whose signature states that she works as the "chief operating officer of Belichick Productions."

Ross Kaminsky