Football, like most family businesses, can be passed down. For Steve Belichick, his path will lead him in a different direction, provided he relies on more than his surname.
Steve Belichick Opens Up on Professional Reunion With Dad, Bill Belichick
After rumors swirled this week surrounding Bill Belichick leaving the North Carolina Tar Heels for the NFL, the coach put them soundly to rest. Now, while eyes train upon him, another Belichick prepares for his moment in the spotlight. Steve will serve as his father’s defensive coordinator on Chapel Hill this fall.
More importantly, when the elder Belichick retires, the son will ascend to the big chair, taking over as head coach. While that seems like a textbook case of nepotistic football, Steve will eventually have the opportunity to silence doubters.
During a car ride this week, the Belichicks stopped by the Pat McAfee Show to discuss the plan, with Steve opening up on what it’s like to walk with his Dad once again.
What’s it like working with your Dad again..
“I’m excited to be here and we’re on the road now..
I had a blast coaching College Football at Washington and we’ll see what we can do at North Carolina” ~ Steve Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LdERCMy14i
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 6, 2025
“I’m just excited to be here,” the younger Belichick said. “Just trying to build a staff, trying to build the team. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve got to hit the road now and see what’s going to happen, try and get some good players on the team.”
When Bill Belichick accepted the North Carolina job, many furled brows brushed across the landscape. Why would a Hall of Fame-caliber head coach want the grind of coaching college players?
Speculation abounded whether the move would open the door to an NFL return. While that remains on the table, right now, the focus is righting the ship in Carolina. From all indications, the father-son duo will work closely to fix the Tar Heels.
Will Belichick Hire Improve A Southern Fried Mess That Has Been North Carolina Football?
In the last twenty seasons, any semblance of an iota of luster that North Carolina enjoyed as a football program was eroded by lackluster play and abysmal coaching. For example, since 2005, the Tar Heels reached fourteen bowl games, winning just three. Their last win? A 55-13 beatdown of Temple in the 2019 Military Bowl.
Therein lies the problem: earned bowl bids to third-tier games do absolutely nothing for the program.
FOLLOW ALONG: Track Every Transfer Portal Entrant in our CFN Transfer Portal Tracker now!
Despite this, North Carolina recruited well enough; it just never got over the metaphorical hump. The ACC, as a league, will never confuse itself with the Big Ten, SEC, or even the Big 12. For a short while, Clemson ran away and hid with the conference title, but two seasons with double-digit wins (1997, 2015) enraged the donor base.
Belichick will amble across the sidelines due in part to regents pushing for his hiring.
Steve Belichick’s Uncommon Coaching Route Terminates Tommy Boy Comparison
Critics want to paint the younger Belichick with the trope of the inept son trying to live off his father’s name. You can draw a parallel between that thinking and the 1995 classic comedy, Tommy Boy. However, unlike the titular character, Steve managed to go into the family business early. Originally a lacrosse player, the younger coach spent time as a long snapper on the Rutgers football team.
Bucking the claims of unworthy nepotism, Steve started as a defensive assistant, pretty much gathering film and organizing. From there, he worked as a position coach for his father, first coaching safeties, then defensive backs and finally outside linebackers.
Now, anyone who knows Belichick the Elder, realizes how demanding he is of his coaches, regardless of familial ties. In working at three levels of the defense, the son learned the defense from multiple aspects and viewpoints.
Lane Kiffin made his bones working under his father, the architect of the Tampa 2 defense, Monte Kiffin. Lane struck out on his own, compiling a 105-52 collegiate coaching record. Steve worked 2024 as the defensive coordinator for the University of Washington, providing distance between himself and his father.
Elevated Expectations Amid A Major Rebuild
As mentioned, the University of North Carolina football program has disappointed their fanbase on a yearly basis. Yet, the offense was never the problem. The last decade saw the best run of quarterbacks in school history (Mitch Trubisky, Sam Howell, and Drake Maye).
The trio combined for 23,063 yards and 196 touchdown passes during their respective careers. Yet, Sam Howell is the only one to win a bowl game. The Tar Heels defense, despite a plethora of NFL draft picks over the last ten years, cannot stop a nosebleed.
From a stats standpoint, since 2016, the North Carolina defense ranked in the ACC top five in total defense just once (2020). Steve’s mandate: make the defense immediately successful.
Mack Brown left the defensive cupboard bare. The younger Belichick will work with members of the eightieth-ranked recruiting class, according to 24/7 Sports. Meanwhile, the transfer portal looks a bit friendlier, bringing in the 26th-ranked class. Of Carolina’s top six transfers, five will play on defense.
Belichick will inherit the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina upon his father’s retirement as part of the contract stipulations. Before that, the younger coach must show that he can sit in the big chair one day. That starts with transforming the defense into one that closes games and thwarts rallies.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.