North Carolina Tar Heels football head coach Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson brought the playoff spirit for another local sports team.

Bill Belichick, 73, signed a lucrative multi-year deal to take over as the Tar Heels’ football coach in December. Belichick and Hudson, who have a massive 49-year age gap, have made their fair share of public appearances together since he signed the contract at Chapel Hill.

As sports fans in North Carolina await the return of college football and basketball, all eyes are on the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, who play in Raleigh. The Hurricanes drew the Metropolitan Division rival New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs as they look to win their first title in 19 years.

Belichick and Hudson were at the Lenovo Center on Tuesday night to cheer on the Hurricanes in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series:

It was a happy day for the couple and Hurricanes fans, with the home team winning 3-1 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. With that, Carolina is now just two victories away from reaching the conference semis for the fifth straight year.

After a year away from coaching, Bill Belichick signed a five-year contract with UNC worth $50 million. The deal includes a $1 million buyout if he leaves after June 1st, though that’s highly unlikely to occur now that every NFL head coaching position is filled.

Bill Belichick’s First College Coaching Gig

Bill Belichick (Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)
Belichick was employed by an NFL club every year from 1975 to 2023, beginning with the Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts) as a special assistant. After being passed over in the 2024 head coach hiring cycle, Belichick decided not to wait for 2025 and quickly signed a deal with UNC.

Of course, there’s a good possibility that Belichick will be highly-coveted by NFL teams if he has a strong first year at Chapel Hill. And the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach should have a desire to return to the pros, especially with the all-time coaching wins record in his reach.