Time to Unveil Belichick and Carroll Show and See How it Works

These sons of famous NFL football coaches will be on the sideline for the Weber State opener.

Steve Belichick and Brennan Carroll address the media. / Dan Raley

Steve Belichick and Brennan Carroll sat down behind a pair of microphones this week and began speaking.

They might as well have been singing.

With Belichick's dirty blond hair and Carroll's stiff-bristle beard, they looked as if they could have been sharing a concert stage somewhere, taking turns wailing away as the frontman.

They weren't exactly Don Henley and Glenn Frey, but they're rock stars just the same -- the face of the University of Washington football team, purposely put together by coach Jedd Fisch, in a sheer genius move, to make a big college football splash.

They're the sons of famous football men Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll who were winners of Super Bowls and became NFL legends, and now Fisch's defensive and offensive coordinators, and such a great match they laugh at each other's jokes and almost complete each other's sentences.

"We've been going against each other for so long," the younger Belichick said of their daily practice matchups.

"Great battles," Carroll said.

"Yeah, great battles," Belichick responded.

When the Huskies open the season against Weber State on Saturday night, the next-generation Belichick, 37, and Carroll, 45, will be on the sideline where everyone can see them, interacting directly with Fisch, rather than sitting out of public view in the press box. It's a hands-on approach that everyone prefers.

They're much more than offspring who come from iconic football families and hardly gimmicks simply to get their Hollywood football dads to attend practice and make Montlake a happening place. Husky players genuinely swear by them.

“He’s funny, he’s a good guy," senior linebacker Carson Bruener said of Belichick. "He’ll get to it, but even at practice, he’ll just be talking to you on the [the headset] when you’re not even in, just joking around. He’s got humor to him, but when it’s time to flip the switch, he knows football really well, probably better than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Whereas Belichick is more of a dry wit guy, Carroll is a little more outgoing and likes to tease just about anyone he meets. Belichick is much shorter in stature while Carroll is a bigger physical presence, definitely taller than his dad.

"He's really one of the boys, to be honest," sophomore offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi said of Carroll. "You can talk to him about anything. You can talk to him like any other O-lineman."

Fisch worked for each of their dads and alongside each of the sons while with the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, and similarly spent time with young Carroll at the University of Miami. A classic networker, the coach used those previous connections to hire Carroll to become his Arizona offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach and he convinced Belichick this past winter to become his defensive coordinator.

Brennan Carroll carries the dual roles as Husky offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach. / Skylar Lin Visuals

He gave each of the sons their first coordinator job at any football level, which has helped him forge long-term bonds with both families and a decided loyalty with each.

While both men seem to know their profession in a credible manner -- with Azzopardi mentioning how he would have gone to Arizona had Fisch and Carroll stayed there after DeBoer left -- the current coach doesn't hesitate to use this connection to have the great Bill Belichick put on some Husky gear and be a practice centerpiece, sharing his wisdom with players and assistant coaches, and come out for an NIL-money-raising event in October.

Steve Belichick advises his UW defense during spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Meantime, Steve Belichick, while clearly a football junkie, has to take great pains to convince people he and his dad share a life outside of football.

“The thing I appreciate most about my dad, he calls to check in on me as a person, and if football comes up, it comes up,” he said. “I can call him about stuff in life or I can call him about stuff in football. There is more to our relationship, surprisingly, than football.”

Yet on Saturday night at Husky Stadium, everything will be all about football with Belichick and Carroll when they take the stage for their first concert performance and have their players tune up a few Weber State players in the process.

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