Young Belichick Shares Husky Stadium With Dad, Continues to Settle In

The UW defensive coordinator shares similar traits with his father.

Steve Belichick met with the media on Saturday. / Dan Raley

Steve Belichick comes off as a man in a big transition as he settles into a new coaching job as the new University of Washington defensive coordinator, as he embraces a new level of football, as he deals with boys rather than men.

The son of legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick, he's hardly your normal college assistant coach with his long brownish, blonde hair tied in a man bun paired with a matching scruffy beard. He better resembles a roadie in a rock band. Or the keyboardist.

This Belichick is polite enough, but he's a man of maddeningly few words, certainly not overly chatty, when he engages with media types who pepper him for his thoughts about defensive schemes and the UW players answering to him. He has the same dry delivery as his dad, a similar propensity for holding out on any detail.

Asked if becoming a college coach was a big adjustment for him after spending a dozen years with his father and the New England Patriots, he responded, "Yes, it has." That was it.

On Saturday, both Belichicks were in attendance for the third UW spring football practice on coaches' clinic weekend, drawing a lot of eyeballs from the dozens of proven and aspiring high school leaders on hand.

Bill Belichick, 71, wore all Husky gear as he took in the midday workout, chatting up coach Jedd Fisch while taking notes on what he saw. Later, he offered his coaching wisdom as a VIP speaker in Alaska Airlines Arena.

At one point in practice, Steve Belichick, 37, stood behind his defense, staring across at his father, who watched intently while perched behind the Husky offense.

When the two-and-a-half-hour workout ended, both Belichicks walked out of Dempsey Indoor and into Husky Stadium, separated by about 20 yards. Steve stopped to do his first one-on-one with the Seattle press corps that covers the team while his father kept walking and disappeared up the tunnel.

"I look up to him in so many different areas," Steve said of Bill. "To have him out here has been awesome."

This younger Belichick's Husky defense appears well-stocked in linebackers, cornerbacks and edge rushers, but it could stand to add a disruptive down lineman or two. Fisch has vowed to bring in a bunch of seasoned offensive linemen this month from the transfer portal and intimated procuring another defensive linemen might be a possibility.

Asked about this, Steve Belichick said diplomatically, "I don't know if there are needs and wants. We always take good players, always want good players. We've got plenty here."

Three practices into the job, Belichick appears to be getting more and more at ease with the Huskies. Linebacker Carson Bruener shared how his coach pranked him with the new helmet communication device he wears at times, barking over it for Bruener to put his helmet on once he stepped on the field.

"I think the guys are working really hard to try to learn everything and asking a lot of good questions," he said. "I'm definitely getting comfortable with the guys and learning the guys."

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