UW Huskies’ staff appears set to add another famous coach’s son

Feb 5, 2024, 12:10 AM | Updated: 9:22 am

Steve Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during a 2021 game against the Atlanta Falcons. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

A Belichick and a Carroll may be about to coach together on the same sideline for the UW Huskies.

This sure is some odd timeline we’ve found ourselves in.

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Matt Zenitz of 247Sports and Bruce Feldman of FOX and The Athletic both reported Sunday night that Steve Belichick, son of legendary former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, is “expected” to be hired by the UW Huskies as new coach Jedd Fisch’s defensive coordinator. ESPN’s Field Yates followed up Monday morning that Belichick had accepted the position.

Patriots OLB coach Steve Belichick has now accepted the position to become the University of Washington’s defensive coordinator.

After 12 seasons coaching in the NFL with the Patriots, he heads to the college ranks in a coordinator capacity.

Belichick called defensive plays…

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 5, 2024

Washington has already hired Brennan Carroll, son of former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, to continue to be Fisch’s offensive coordinator, a role he held at Arizona each of the past three seasons.

Brennan Carroll, son of Pete, named UW Huskies OC under Jedd Fisch

Steve Belichick, 36, has coached under his father with the Patriots since 2012. He was outside linebackers coach each of the last four seasons, a role that included defensive playcalling duties. He started as a defensive assistant for four years, was safeties coach from 2016-18, then secondary and safeties coach in 2019.

A New Jersey native, Steve Belichick played long snapper at Rutgers in college. He also played lacrosse for the Scarlet Knights.

The Belichick and Carroll families have an interesting history, to say the least. Pete Carroll actually preceded Bill Belichick as Patriots head coach, spending 1997-99 with New England. Bill Belichick went on to have perhaps the greatest coaching tenure in NFL history with the team, winning six Super Bowls over 23 seasons – including one over Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. Separated in age by just seven months, the two were the oldest coaches in the NFL until they parted ways with their teams a day apart last month after the most successful coaching runs in both teams’ histories.

Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll are seemingly complete opposites in personalities, the former gruff and short with the media, the latter eternally optimistic and loquacious. One of the few things connecting them is Fisch.

The new UW Huskies head coach was on Pete Carroll’s first Seahawks staff in 2010 as quarterbacks coach, and held the same role under Bill Belichick (and alongside Steve Belichick) with the 2020 Patriots. Pete Carroll was seen at Fisch’s introductory press conference at Washington, and both he and Bill Belichick were known to visit Fisch’s program at Arizona during his time with the Wildcats.