Mary Kay Cabot, a long-time NFL insider, had a well-timed quip about Bill Belichick’s dating habits during her acceptance speech for the 2025 Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner. The Cleveland Browns beat writer, and recent recipient of the Bill Nunn Memorial Award mentioned her early years when covering the previous Patriots coach.
“Bill Belichick was the first Browns coach I ever covered,” Cabot told the audience.
“You see, if you start out with Bill Belichick, no one can rattle you after that,” she went on to describe her early journalistic years.
Then came the punchline that brought down the house:
“But now, I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time. I was 28 at the time, and he just couldn’t relate to a woman that old.”
This joke referenced Belichick’s most recent relationship involving 24-year-old Jordan Hudson, which became public earlier this season. The timing was far too perfect given the 72-year-old’s romance with someone nearly 50 years younger.
Mary Kay Cabot on Bill Belichick:
“I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time. I was 28 at the time and he just couldn’t relate to a woman that old.”pic.twitter.com/ilLlsi7P9V— BrownsNation.com (@BrownsNationcom) August 3, 2025
The seasoned journalist also depicted a situation of a young reporter trying to learn about one of the most difficult personalities in the NFL. Belichick would call and scream at her if he didn’t like something she wrote. He would routinely call out reporters for asking stupid questions.
“Eventually, I had to learn to stand up to him,” Mary Kay Cabot explained. “During one of those yelling matches, I told him, if you don’t have the footballs to say that to the guys, then don’t say it to me.”
The humor behind her Belichick joke is borne out of confidence that comes from having experience for decades. She has made it through coaching changes, franchise moves, and an unimaginable amount of press conferences. Cabot is now one of the giants in the profession covering the NFL.
Mary Kay Cabot’s Journey From Young Reporter to Hall of Fame Recognition
Mary Kay Cabot has covered the NFL since 1988, and the Browns beat since 1991. She broke ground as the first woman from the Cleveland media to cover a major professional sports team.
A recipient of the Bill Nunn Memorial Award, Mary has known Belichick since the coach’s first period as head coach with the Browns, from 1991 through 1995. Those were kind of formative years for them both: Belichick was learning to be a head coach and Cabot was carving out a reputation in a male-dominated space.
Cabot’s role is not only serving as the Pro Football Hall of Fame selector, she also holds the office of president for the Cleveland chapter of the PFWA. These additional roles make an example of how recognized she is within the industry.
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