Inside The Huskies

Belichick Humorously Shares New UW Job Experiences on Podcast

The Husky defensive coordinator has had to adjust after coaching only in the NFL.

Dan Raley

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He looks like he just got out of bed and rubbed his eyes. Or played the last set at the Tractor Tavern.

Either way, Steve Belichick definitely brings his own look and feel to the job as the new University of Washington defensive coordinator for Jedd Fisch, as revealed on Friday on the Green Light podcast hosted humorously by Chris Long, a former NFL player for Belichick and one of the sons for former Oakland Raiders standout Howie Long, from Charlottesville, Virginia.

In a casual often raw video show for 40 minutes, filled with bro, dude, man and plenty of expletives, Belichick could have been old sage rocker Joe Walsh as he regaled his podcast hosts with his first impressions of Seattle, as that of a college coach for the first time and as that as the son of legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick. 

He was at Hotel Montlake, where you can check in any time you like, but you can never leave. With his office view, who would want to?

As the podcast began, Belichick wheeled his camera around to show off Husky Stadium backed up against Lake Washington and the North Cascades mountain range, and his hosts immediately committed to him for a scholarship on the spot without being offered. 

"The first time I got here, I'm trying to interview and talk to people and I got a little ADD, like we all do, and I was just staring out the window, like holy [bleep]," he said. "[It was] 'My bad, what was your question?' "

For sure, Belichick, 36, will cut a different, less formal figure at UW defense coordinator than his older predecessors, Chuck Morrell and William Inge, who were in their late 40s.

Belichick, who previously coached only in the pros for the New England Patriots and his father, told how he had to learn the difference between NIL and NLI — name, likeness and image versus national letter of intent.

Especially funny was the new Husky DC describing his first call to a high school recruit recently whereas he had interacted before only with players who were grown men.

"I face-timed my first high school kid last week, which was a little bit different," he said. "We didn't have face-time when I was in high school."

Belichick, who's commuting back and forth from a hotel to Husky Stadium, said he has the itch to begin coaching after sitting in on multiple academic meetings and going through human-resources training, will teach basic fundamentals before introducing a scheme and won't be a screamer in practice. 

He's also pointedly asked some of his defensive guys why they play the positions that they do — was it their choice or someone else's? He was just curious.

Kidded about his all-league mullet or trademark long, stringy hair, the hosts implored Belichick to not let anyone make him cut it. He said he might do it himself on a whim, though it's one of the things that sets himself apart from his famous father.

"Being the son, you're always in the shadows," Steve Belichick said. "Ever since then, I've tried not to be him. People say I sound like him, but I can't fix that. I want to be real to the guys. I'm just trying to be myself. Love it or hate it, I can't help that."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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