According to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Steve Belichick – the son of UNC head football coach Bill Belichick – will join Carolina and serve as the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator next season.

Steve Belichick spent the 2024 season as the defensive coordinator for Washington. Under Belichick’s guidance, the Huskies ranked 26th in the nation in total defense, allowing 331 total yards per game. UNC’s defense ranked 85th in the country and allowed 396 yards per game. Washington’s performance in its first season under Belichick was an improvement on its 2023 season, when the Huskies allowed more than 400 yards per game.

Belichick’s appointment would see him replacing UNC defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who was in his first season with the Tar Heels. It would not be the first time Steve Belichick has worked on the same staff as his father; Steve served as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots from 2012 through 2023, when his father was fired. Steve Belichick began as a defensive assistant but eventually coached both defensive backs and linebackers. The Patriots won three Super Bowls during his time on staff. His one-year tenure at Washington was his first coaching job outside of his father’s administration.

Steve Belichick is the third reported addition to Bill Belichick’s staff in Chapel Hill. The head coach already confirmed the appointments of Michael Lombardi as general manager and Freddie Kitchens as an assistant coach. Kitchens, who served as tight ends coach and run game coordinator under former head coach Mack Brown, is serving as UNC’s interim head coach for the Fenway Bowl on December 28.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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