Report: Jordon Hudson played "instrumental role" in derailing North Carolina's Hard Knocks opportunity

The Hard Knocks: UNC version was on, until it wasn’t. While some (e.g., Lombo) have loudly insisted that a deal was never done, it basically was. To the point where NFL Films and North Carolina were hoping to announce the production on February 28, the same day that multiple outlets reported it to be a done deal.

So what happened? TheAthletic.com reports that coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, “played an instrumental role in stopping the production, related to her request to be heavily involved in the project.”

The report cites “multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations.” And it meshes with everything we’ve heard about how something that was locked and loaded ended up shooting blanks.

Per the report, NFL Films was due to begin filming the day after the reports first surfaced, on Saturday, March 1. NFL Films would have spent two months on campus, filming the docuseries/infomercial.

Two days later, NFL V.P. of commercial operations and business affairs Jessica Boddy emailed North Carolina’s counsel to say that NFL Films “will not proceed with the production of the Belichick project.”

Said Boddy, “The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with.”

The missed opportunity resulted in North Carolina losing $200,000 in “facilities fees,” along with the free publicity that would have come from having the program showcased by HBO.

HBO, NFL Films, and North Carolina reportedly intended to announce the series around the Scouting Combine. A press release was written, which had this quote from Belichick himself: “I’ve been a fan of NFL Films for the entirety of my 51-year coaching career and have enjoyed every collaboration with them. I’ve been waiting for the right time to partner with the Hard Knocks filmmaking team and that time has arrived. I’m excited to show off UNC’s tremendous leadership, passionate coaching staff, and roster full of young players, who I hope to teach how to be ‘pros’ on and off the field.”

But for Belichick’s approval, the press release would have landed on the afternoon of Friday, February 28. By Monday, the entire project was scrapped.

Beyond Hudson’s desire to be heavily involved (we’ve heard talk of her possibly wanting to be credited as an “executive producer”), the internal reaction to the initial reports was not ideal. Multiple owners weren’t thrilled with the idea that the league would grant such a valuable platform to Belichick and North Carolina. With college football more competitive than ever — and with the various owners loyal to their own schools — why throw Chapel Hill a bone?

Also, why do anything to help a former NFL coach who, along with his consigliere, had been trashing pro football?

It could be as simple as this: NFL Films had misgivings about dealing with Hudson, to the point where some were on the fence about moving foward. Any negative feedback from the folks who own and operate the entire operation could have been enough to nudge NFL Films away from proceeding.

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