Belichick: Coverage of my relationship is just 'noise'

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick dismissed offseason headlines about his relationship with girlfriend Jordon Hudson, while the team's players said the coverage hasn't been a distraction.

"Sometimes it's noisy and sometimes it isn't," Belichick told ESPN's David Hale. "Sometimes with the Patriots it was noisy, too."

The 73-year-old former NFL coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend have been making headlines since Belichick's shocking hire by North Carolina in December. Hudson was caught on camera interrupting Belichick's interview on "CBS News Sunday Morning" and was reportedly banned from UNC's team facilities, which school officials subsequently denied.

It's all just "noise," Belichick said.

UNC players said the high-profile relationship hasn't affected the team's preparations for this season.

"There was never a problem, like people saying she was running practice. We'd never really see her in the building," receiver Jordan Shipp said.

He added, "We support Coach B no matter what he's doing. We're behind him 100%. Whatever stuff is in the news drug on more than it really was. It was never a distraction, never an issue, never a problem."

Quarterback Gio Lopez said, "He's a normal guy, a normal coach. That's how he carries himself. He's very personable, not worried about the spotlight."

The former New England Patriots coach was brought in to help turn around a program that's won 10 or more games just once since 1998. The Tar Heels went 6-7 last year and fired head coach Mack Brown after six seasons in his second stint with the program.

Belichick's resume includes six Super Bowl wins, and he sits third among the NFL's all-time winningest head coaches with 302 victories.

He suggested that it might be easier to teach collegiate players compared to their NFL counterparts based on their eagerness to learn and lack of ego.

"They don't have as many bad habits," Belichick said, according to College Sports on SiriusXM. "They're more anxious to learn fundamentally the right way, or at least the way we're teaching to do things. They really embrace it. That's not always the case in the NFL. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't."

One key to helping spark a turnaround will be identifying a starting quarterback, but Belichick didn't tip his hand. Incumbent Max Johnson started for UNC last season before breaking his leg in the opener. South Alabama transfer Lopez and freshman Bryce Baker are among other passers competing for the No. 1 role.

"We'll let the competition play out on the field," Belichick said on ESPN's "SportsCenter." "I can't control how players play. Never have and never will. Performance is up to the players, and we'll do the best we can to coach all of them."

Belichick will make his North Carolina debut against TCU on Sept. 1.