Jimmy Kimmel took a dig at Bill Belichick’s relationship with his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, while addressing the head coach’s surprising snub from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Bill Belichick is a bit of a jerk and a bit of a cheater, but he absolutely should have been voted into the Hall of Fame,” Kimmel, 58, said during his Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue on Thursday, January 29. “The guy has been winning Super Bowls longer than his girlfriend has been alive.”
Belichick, 73, and Hudson, 24, made their relationship official in October 2024 after months of speculation. The pair met on a plane in 2021.
Thursday night was not the first time Kimmel has taken shots at the nearly 49-year age difference in Belichick and Hudson’s romance.
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“I got to say, I love this relationship,” Kimmel said on his show in April. “I can’t get enough of those two. It’s like they need a reality show. It’s like The Golden Bachelor meets the regular Bachelorette.”
When Kimmel joked that the couple met “at a daddy-daughter dance,” some members of his studio audience became noticeably uncomfortable, but the late night host doubled down.
“No, no, no. They met at a swing set,” he said.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday, January 27, that Belichick did not receive the necessary 40 out of 50 votes to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.
A spokesperson for the Hall of Fame declined to confirm Belichick’s being snubbed from the 2026 class.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame does not comment on the voting of the Selection Committee and awaits the unveiling of the Class of 2026 at NFL Honors on Feb. 5 in San Francisco,” the spokesperson told ESPN.
A source told ESPN that Belichick was under the impression “politics kept him out.”
“He doesn’t believe this is a reflection on his accomplishments,” the source added.
Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots between 2000 and 2023. He is now the head football coach at the University of North Carolina.
Despite his success in New England, his legacy was marred in the eyes of some by the Spygate and Deflategate scandals, which multiple voters told ESPN were addressed during their deliberations about Belichick’s Hall of Fame nomination.
It is alleged that Bill Polian, a former executive with the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts, argued that Belichick should “wait a year” to be inducted due to his role in the scandals.
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Belichick’s snub drew widespread criticism from the sports world, including future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James.
“Man there’s no way I read that right! Right? Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!!”James, 41, posted via X on Tuesday. “That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!”
Belichick’s former quarterback Tom Brady also blasted the committee’s decision on Wednesday, January 28.
“I don’t understand it,” Brady, 48, said during an appearance on a Seattle radio show. “I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Which is completely ridiculous, because people deserve it. He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m taking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick. So, that’s enough said.”