Inside The Huskies

UW Coach Comparison: Belichick Climbs Out From Under Father's Shadow

The son comes to Montlake after a dozen years of NFL experience, trying something new.

Dan Raley

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

Steve Belichick answers to a football name that opens a lot of doors for him, that as the son of the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach for the New England Patriots, as someone who personally shared in some of that NFL success.

Yet as the new University of Washington defensive coordinator, this Belichick is as unconventional in his approach to the game as much as all of that buttoned-down family winning is commonplace.

With his trademark Big Lebowski appearance, long stringy hair, practice shorts only and all, Steve Belichick looks like no other Husky football coach before him.

New UW coach Jedd Fisch said it's a look and feel that works well for young Belichick, one that makes him relatable to the players.

"Steve, as a coach, is as authentic as it gets," Fisch said at Big Ten Media Days. "When recruiting a player, they love his authenticity because they don't get a lot of it. Ask players what is coach Belichick like, he's a real man. He's going to get right to it, 'Do you want to run the Patriots' defense? Do you want to be coached in a manner that NFL players get coached?' "

Steve Belichick runs behind edge rusher Jacob Lane and the rest of the UW defense.
Steve Belichick runs behind edge rusher Jacob Lane and the rest of the UW defense. / Skylar Lin Visuals

In looking at the 10 new assistant coaches who introduced themselves during 15 spring football, practices, we turn to the younger Belichick, who replaces co-defensive coordinators Chuck Morrell and William Inge., who have moved to Alabama and Tennessee, respectively, in non-coordinator coaching capacities.

With his career path to Montlake, the immediate question persists: can this Belichick -- after eight seasons as a full-time NFL assistant for his father following four as a support staffer for the Patriots franchise -- stay interested in the college game, which he has not coached before? After all, face-timing a recruit is something still very new for him.

Of all of his personnel moves so far, Fisch might be taking his biggest gamble by turning over his defense to a guy who, famous football family or not, frankly still has a lot to prove.

The head coach has made procedural allowances for Belichick, who won't coach a specific position area, which has been standard fare for the UW defensive coordinators before him. He's been given the freedom to simply float from group to group in piecing together an NFL-style defense that will emphasize tackling and physicality.

The Husky head coach said he interviewed five people for the job and was enamored by the fact that Belichick called the Patriots defensive plays for 72 games.

"Steve was always a guy who I had my eyes set on who I really wanted to run our defense," Fisch said. "He's brilliant, No. 1. He's been a play-caller for four years in the NFL. That was a big part of it, where he had a great separation there."

From the previous staff, Inge was an assistant coach for 23 seasons from the Big Ten to the Pac-12, including one year as a defensive staffer in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, and Morrell had 26 years of coaching, though just four on the FBS level, compared to Belichick's dozen years in the NFL. That's more than a four-to-one ratio in overall experience in this role.

Inge and Morrell have coordinator backgrounds, with Morrell a college NAIA head coach for nine seasons, whereas Belichick has none of that. Belichick has the deep pro football background, which the others don't.

Belichick needs to show that the college game fully suits him, that the UW defensive coordinator job fits him. However, he can make up a lot of ground on his more veteran predecessors by using his pro football background to put together a consistent big-play Husky defense, which hasn't always been the case in multiple seasons. If he brings instant results, Belichick will be a decided upgrade.

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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