It looks as though Bill Belichick will not be coaching football in the 2024 season. That is not the case, though, for his son, Steve Belichick.
Belichick is headed to the college ranks, specifically, the University of Washington. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that Belichick “is expected to become the new defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies.”
Feldman also detailed that Belichick and new Washington coach Jedd Fisch were both coaches for the 2020 Patriots.
The younger Belichick worked with new Washington head coach Jedd Fisch in New England in 2020. Worth noting: three of the top eight ranked defenses in FBS this past year were led by defensive coordinators who’d come from the NFL (Michigan, ND and UCLA).
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 5, 2024
New England has struggled over the last four seasons, with three losing seasons, only one playoff appearance and no playoff wins. But that has likely had more to do with the departure of Tom Brady — and subsequent offensive struggles — following the 2019 season. Since Steve Belichick began calling the defensive plays in 2020, the Patriots have never ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in either total defense or points allowed. They’ve averaged an 8.5 ranking in both categories over that stretch.
Steve Belichick served on his dad’s staff in New England from 2012-2013 and worked with the defense for the entire time. He was a defensive assistant from 2012-2015, the safeties coach from 2016-2018, the secondary coach in 2019 and the outside linebackers coach from 2020-2023.
Washington is coming off of a tremendous season. The Huskies went 12-0 in the regular season, won the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon, defeated Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal and lost to Michigan in the National Championship Game. Belichick will be part of a changing program in Washington. The Huskies lost coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama while Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. is off to the NFL. The upcoming will also be Washington’s first in the Big 10.
[Bruce Feldman on Twitter/X]
