Bill Belichick explores hiring outside P.R. help

Bill Belichick seems to know that his current publicity plan isn’t working.

Per multiple sources, Belichick has been talking to at least one experienced P.R. specialist in the hopes of boosting his book tour and/or the overall interests of the North Carolina football program.

Belichick has been having conversations with former Bears V.P. of communications Brandon Faber. The discussions have been occurring for a couple of months. For now, however, nothing has been completed or formalized.

The potential assignment encompasses working directly for North Carolina and/or assisting Belichick with non-UNC matters. Like his book.

It would be wise for Belichick to get someone to provide him with frank, candid advice on how to navigate the media. As it relates to his book tour, Belichick has badly blown it by assuming the media needs him more than he needs the media.

The decision to revert to that goofy, truculent press-conference presence did him no favors during his recent CBS interview. Throw in his girlfriend serving as a de facto umpire who regarded oversized softballs as high heat, and it was all even more bizarre.

It also sparked a week of relentless scrutiny, which put his personal/professional relationship firmly on the radar of TMZ and Page Six. It also got Belichick a skewering in the cold open of the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.

Maybe it will change. To make it change, Belichick needs a seasoned and experienced P.R. professional who can tell him when things are going well — and who can make him realize when the football emperor’s new clothes is a Navy jersey from the 1950s with a big hole in it.

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