Bill Belichick is no longer in place with the Patriots, and his sons took varied approaches with respect to their football futures. Brian Belichick is still on New England’s staff as safeties coach, but his brother Steve departed the NFL coaching ranks this offseason. 
The latter took the defensive coordinator job at Washington in February. That move allowed him to reunite with Jedd Fisch after the pair previously worked together in New England. Fisch is now head coach of the Huskies, a team which made it to the CFP national title game last season. Enjoying a strong campaign in a coordinator role will help Belichick’s stock for another college gig or one allowing him to return to the pro ranks.
In the wake of Bill Belichick being succeeded by Jerod Mayo, both of his sons were offered the opportunity to stay on for the 2024 campaign. Keeping that in mind, it is notable Steve Belichick did not originally intend to leave the organization. His latest comments on the matter confirm he preferred to remain in New England for at least one more season.
“I wasn’t eager to leave [the Patriots] or anything like that,” Belichick told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required). “You just keep your options open. Stuff happens. We all have different reasons for [taking different jobs], but it just felt right.”
Steve Belichick did not have the official title of defensive coordinator on his father’s staff after the departure of Matt Patricia, but he served as New England’s primary defensive play-caller over the past four seasons. DC DeMarcus Covington will handle those duties in 2024, the first season in which he calls plays at the NFL level. Covington will have plenty of familiar faces to work with given the efforts made this offseason to retain and extend defensive players, but his performance will be a key factor in determining the team’s success on that side of the ball.
For Belichick, meanwhile, his ability to handle coordinator duties in college will impact his coaching stock and thus his ability to return to the pro ranks if he so chooses. His next position may not come in New England, but his reflections on the offseason suggest he is satisfied with where things currently stand.
“It kind of happened organically,” Belichick added of his departure. “It’s cool to be out here [in Washington]. It’s weird how it happened. Everything fell into place, and I’m pumped to be out here.”
He’s a good coach and this will only be a stepping stone to bigger things.
Unless his defense gets crushed by the Big 10 then he’ll have to put in the years all over again to prove Daddy wasn’t the reason he was successful. Perception is reality in the coaching ranks