Bill Belichick refuses to take part in college football tradition as 73-year-old nears first game with UNC

Bill Belichick has decided he won't take part in a traditional requirement of North Carolina's football head coach this season.

It has been announced that the eight-time Super Bowl winner won't participate in the Tar Heels' traditional coach's radio show throughout the year. 

Belichick, 73, will appear on the first episode of the season on August 27 but will not be on the show again.

Instead, he will be replaced by the Tar Heels' general manager Michael Lombardi. He will be joined by various assistant coaches and players throughout the season.

The show was previously known as 'Mack Brown Live' after the former head coach but now it has been rebranded to 'Carolina Football Live', owing to Belichick's decision to not be a regular guest.

The plan is for the show to still be aired on a weekly basis from Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery near the school's Chapel Hill campus.

A coach's weekly radio show is common across college football and gives fans an opportunity to ask the team's leader some questions.

The premise of the shows has changed in recent years, going from live phone calls with coaches to fans sending their questions in via text or email.

Some coaches have appearing on a weekly radio show written into their contract but there was no such demand added to Belichick's deal. 

It emerged earlier this week that the influence of Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson is now spilling over into the recovery methods of the team. 

Belichick stunned football fans with his strength and flexibility earlier this year when he was pictured hoisting Hudson into the air during a beach date with his girlfriend.

And now it's emerged that the legendary coach is using yoga to help his UNC players prepare for the new season.

The 73-year-old is in his first ever college football role after joining the Tar Heels back in January. His tenure has so far been dominated by his relationship with Hudson and the 24-year-old's perceived influence on Belichick and UNC football.

The couple went viral in March after Hudson shared pictures of them performing acrobatics on the beach. 

In one image, the 24-year-old could be seen lying horizontally on her boyfriend's outstretched legs. Belichick later joked that he is simply 'trying to stay young'.

And this week, the six-time Super Bowl winner opened up on how yoga is now helping his players get in shape ahead of the new season.

'Yoga is a recovery technique. It’s not really a training technique,' Belichick said. 'We use it more for recovery, and there are a lot of benefits to it. 

'It’s a good way after a couple, three, four days of practices to give the body a chance to recover, stretch, get the blood flowing, and so forth.'