Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn't one for non-mandatory media appearances, but those with a book to sell don't really have a choice. The North Carolina football coach sat down with Tony Dokoupil for a CBS Sunday Morning conversation that started out as routine and then turned agonizing when the interviewer began to ask questions that might actually interest the public.
You can sense when the temperature in the room drops. When Dokoupil asks Belichick about his upcoming book The Art of Winning, or his football life, the coach is happy to answer with relative enthusiasm. Even a question about former quarterback Tom Brady gets a warm response. When the topic switches to his old boss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, it's as if Belichick's back in the postgame presser after a loss. The ragged Navy sweatshirt he's wearing completes that feeling:
DOKOUPIL: I have to ask about Robert Kraft, because 24 years together, six Super Bowls—unless I'm wrong, he's not in this book. How come?
BELICHICK: He's not. Well, again, it's about my life lessons in football, and it's really more about the ones that I experienced directly.
DOKOUPIL: He's not even in the acknowledgments section.
[very long pause as Belichick stares at Dokoupil]
BELICHICK: Correct.
DOKOUPIL: Do you feel like you were treated with dignity and respect when you were let go by Robert Kraft?
BELICHICK: Yeah, well, it was a mutual decision for us to part ways.
DOKOUPIL: He said "fired."
BELICHICK: It was a mutual decision.
The topic then turns to how Belichick met Jordon Hudson, his 24-year-old girlfriend, and surprise: She's watching in the background. According to Dokoupil, she took a very hands-on role in the process of recording the CBS sitdown. When Dokoupil asks Belichick how the two met, Hudson says, "We're not talking about this." The past couple months of reporting have revealed her to be Belichick's liaison, email manager, and headset fixer, among other responsibilities, but the interview is a more direct look at how she's helping out.
The last question in the segment is about Belichick's burgeoning presence on Instagram; it was a softball of a question, setting him up to possibly say something nice about his relationship with Hudson. The coach reacts like he was asked how he prefers to wipe his ass. What a great time for everyone involved. Somehow, this is only the second-worst interview Dokoupil has conducted in the past year.
