Inside The Huskies

North Caroline Hires Bill Belichick While UW Braces to Lose His Son

It is presumed Steve Belichick will reunite with his father in the coaching ranks.

Dan Raley

Bill Belichick celebrates with then-defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after New England defeated the Indianapolis Colts to advance to the AFC Championship game.
Bill Belichick celebrates with then-defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after New England defeated the Indianapolis Colts to advance to the AFC Championship game. / Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK

Looks like Bill Belichick will need to trade in all of that purple University of Washington football gear he wore over the past year for something in a powder blue shade.

On Wednesday night, North Carolina finalized a blockbuster deal to hire the six-time Super Bowl winner to return to coaching in the college ranks after several days of negotiating, multiple news outlets reported, including ESPN.

And the Huskies might have to find a new defensive coordinator to replace his son Steve Belichick because of this development involving the legendary New England Patriots leader.

"He is the greatest coach of all time," Fisch said of Bill Belichick earlier this week. "If he goes and coaches somewhere, then he'll make a decision, and then Steve will make a decision, and then we'll figure it out from there."

Belichick, 72, will head up a North Carolina program that once employed his father, Steve, as an assistant coach from 1953 to 1955.

"I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times," Belichick said in a release announcing the move. "I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill."

While the possibility of Belichick coming to college football for the first time captivated people watching everything unfold, it actually makes a lot of sense with the game becoming more and more like the NFL with players getting paid large sums and freely able to move from team to team in their own form of free agency.

"If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL," Belichick told the Pat McAfee show. "It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, scheme, coaching and techniques that would transfer to the NFL."

In Montlake, Steve Belichick, 37, has been well-received as the Husky defensive coordinator this season, with players drawn to him and his aggressive and creative coaching style, plus his wry or droll wit.

Reports have suggested there may be a deal in place, or at least talked about, to make the younger Belichick a coach in waiting at North Carolina when his father ultimately leaves. Steve coached safeties, linebackers and special teams for a dozen years with his father in New England.

The Belichicks and Fisch were together on the Patriots staff in 2020, with Fisch coaching the quarterbacks.

Steve Belichick currently is preparing his Husky defense to face Louisville on Dec. 31 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

A lasting image will be of Bill Belichick attending spring and fall practices this past year and looking comfortable dressed in an assortment of Husky football gear.

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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