By all accounts, Bill Belichick never needed a second act. The hoodie, the monotone, the death stares—it all worked just fine for six Super Bowls, a hundred memes, and nearly two decades of psychological warfare against the rest of the NFL. “I tell people he’s the funniest guy I’ve ever been around,” Heath Evans once said about Belichick. “And when I say that to people, they tell me I need to get out more.” But if you blinked sometime after his divorce with New England, you might have missed the transformation.

The football czar, once compared to a Sith Lord, is now dropping jokes, pulling up to Gronk Beach, and—if Rob Gronkowski is to be believed—“loving the party scene more than ever.”

 Gronk’s recent Instagram clip really pulled back the curtain on Belichick and who he is behind the hoodie. “Here’s something that a lot of people really don’t know,” Gronk shared during his appearance on the video. “He never really cracks jokes, you know, and he’s always got that serious face in team meetings”. But that wasn’t the full story. According to Gronk, every once in a while, the famously stern Belichick would completely flip the mood. “Once every two weeks, he would just come in with an absolute f***ing banger, bro. I’m talking banger.”

“And he would actually have a smile on his face right after he would just drop some knowledge or some, you know, over-the-top joke that just landed every time with the team,” Gronk continued. “Everyone would just be on the ground, just f***ng dying, laughing”.

This isn’t the first time Belichick’s stealth sarcasm has broken containment. Former players like Matt Cassel and Wes Welker have alluded to his dry, offbeat humor in the past, usually delivered with the cadence of a man reading a tax code but landing with unexpected precision. But Gronk’s version? It sounds almost… joyful.

 “It was always vicious to the joker or whatever. The knowledge was always vicious… but when he did do that, man, it was good s**t. We all appreciated it,” Gronk shared.

It’s one thing to crack a joke every two weeks behind closed doors. It’s another to show up, however briefly, to a Gronkowski-curated EDM bash. Or to show up on social media, on television, or at various parties around the league circuit. Belichick hasn’t morphed into a different person, but he’s pulled back the curtain just enough to let a few beams of light through.

Was Gronk surprised? “Definitely,” he said. “I thought he would keep that mantra even going into whatever he was gonna do next. I’m sure he probably has that mantra while coaching the Tar Heels, but on the outside of everything else, I was definitely surprised… he joined the media game, cracking more jokes, smiling more.”

Part of that shift has coincided with Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, a former cheerleader and philosophy major with an affinity for self-branding and, apparently, Belichick. While Gronk didn’t name names, the online speculation machine has run wild with the idea that Hudson’s presence has subtly influenced the post-Hoodie persona we’re seeing emerge.

From sideline general to ‘party Bill Belichick’: how Jordon keeps the coach young

Behind every relaxed grin and candid media appearance is Hudson’s supportive hand. Consequently, it’s her behind-the-scenes guidance that’s encouraging Belichick to share stories he once kept under lock and key—for example, think sunrise yoga on the beach and impromptu social outings. For instance, at Gronk’s own “Gronk Beach” event, Belichick showed up for just a few minutes—enough to wave, smile, and soak in the sunshine—before slipping away. During a follow-up ‘Pivot’ appearance, Belichick joked he’s doing yoga “to stay young,” adding that Hudson’s prodding got him on the mat in the first place.

Such anecdotes underscore how he’s evolving. In fact, Hudson even commissioned a custom painting of their viral beach yoga moment, cheekily titled Mona Lisa Vito, to commemorate one of their first shared passions. This artwork nods to Belichick’s “Patriot Way,” now retitled “The Belichick Way” in honor of his evolved lifestyle. Recently, Hudson posted a sunset dinner snap with Bill Belichick on Instagram and a single can of Old Bay seasoning between them, captioning it “Old Bay with my old bae”.

Despite all the changes, the football brain is intact. But everything around it? The hoodie, the glare, the dry sarcasm that could drop a grown man to his knees? That seems to be fading. Maybe it’s retirement. Maybe it’s Jordon Hudson. Maybe Belichick just got tired of being the villain.