Inside The Huskies

Belichick-Related Stories Abound, Some No Surprise to Anyone

No one has denied that father and son will be reunited in North Carolina, but it hasn't been publicly confirmed.

Dan Raley

The Belichicks, Bill and Steve, shown with the New England Patriots in 2022.
The Belichicks, Bill and Steve, shown with the New England Patriots in 2022. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The worst-kept secret surrounding the University of Washington football program is that Steve Belichick will be on the job as defensive coordinator for just another nine days -- long enough to try and beat Louisville in the Sun Bowl -- before joining his father Bill at North Carolina.

No one involved has denied this will happen, though no one in the middle of this cozy family business arrangement has publicly confirmed it either.

Earlier in the week, Christian Caple of On Montlake tried backing into the subject to see if he could elicit a response from Jedd Fisch, who was certain to be coy about the situation.

"Do you have a sense of how the new Carolina hire might impact your coaching staff here?" Caple asked.

Fisch went from stoic to a smile and a wisecrack.

"Wow that was a creative way to ask," the coach said. "That's a great question."

Unfortunately, a great answer did not result.

"I think we'll deal with whatever coaching change or changes might occur at the end of the year after the bowl game," Fisch said, purposely keeping it vague. "If we have to make a decision prior to the bowl game, we certainly can. I know this: I know Steve is really focused in on beating Louisville. I'm really focused in on keeping our team where I want our team mentally."

On Sunday, CBS Sports reported the Belichicks will reunite at North Carolina, citing unnamed sources.

While that premise has long been a forgone conclusion, what with the Belichicks working together as coaches for the New England Patriots for a dozen seasons -- and as close as any father and son -- a more pressing question is what else could take place that might impact the UW football team?

Different reports, unconfirmed, suggest that Husky linebackers coach Robert Bala will replace Steve Belichick as the UW defensive coordinator or he'll join the North Carolina coaching staff. Bill Belichick previously called Alabama on Bala's behalf, and Nick Saban hired Bala as his linebackers coach because of it, so there's a connection there.

Similarly, UW safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri was a member of Belichick's New England staff for its last four seasons before the head coach and the franchise mutually agreed to go their separate ways in 2023, and one has to wonder if he's interested in rejoining his former boss.

Over the weekend, Belichick's new North Carolina staff received a transfer portal commitment from former Husky freshman linebacker Khmori House, a decided boon for the Tar Heels and probably the UW's biggest loss in this portal window.

Meantime since Friday, the Huskies picked up a couple of veteran linebackers from the portal -- Arizona's Jacob Manu and Central Florida's Xe'Ree Alexander -- to fill the position void for 2025, while continuing Sun Bowl preparations.

"Right now, we're going to continue on [with] business as usual," Fisch said, "and after the bowl game make whatever decisions we need to make."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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