Belichick's son, Bill, was the head coach of the NFL's New England Patriots, and currently is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He has two grandsons through Bill: Stephen, former defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies, who now occupies the same position at North Carolina, and Brian, the safeties coach for North Carolina.
After graduation, he worked as an equipment manager for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). The team was struggling, and Belichick reportedly told the coach, Bill Edwards, "I can do better than most of the guys you've got."[4] Edwards, who had coached Belichick at Western Reserve, agreed, and signed him as a player. Although the team's fortunes did not improve, Belichick had some success, scoring a 65-yard punt return touchdown in a loss against the New York Giants.[4]
In 1942, Belichick joined the United States Navy, serving in both Europe and the Pacific.[6] After he completed his service in 1946, he became the head coach at Hiram College, southeast of Cleveland.[2] In 1949, he left Hiram to become the backfield coach at Vanderbilt University,[7] where he spent two seasons before joining the University of North Carolina as an assistant to George Barclay in 1953.[8] Both the Vanderbilt and North Carolina coaching jobs were alongside Belichick's former collegiate and professional head football coach, Bill Edwards.
In 1982, Nick Saban, former head football coach at the University of Alabama, was on the Navy football staff with Belichick.
Personal life
Steve Belichick was the youngest of five children born to Marija Barković and Ivan Biličić, who immigrated to the United States in 1897 from Draganić, Karlovac, Croatia and settled in Monessen, Pennsylvania.[10][11][12] After their marriage, the couple changed their names legally to Mary and John Belichick, reportedly at the suggestion of Immigration Center.[11] In 1924, the family moved to Struthers, Ohio, where Steve Belichick maintained strong ties with the local Croatian community.[12] In 1951, he married Jeannette Ruth Munn, with whom he had one child, Bill.[6][13] Their son is the former head coach of the New England Patriots and has cited his father, with whom he began analyzing game film at the age of 10, as his chief early influence.[14]
The Belichick Library on the campus of the United States Naval Academy was principally donated by Steve Belichick, and consists of books on football strategy and history, as well as Navy Football memorabilia. His son has contributed to it in recent years, and it is considered one of the largest collections of football-related works outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[15]
The Steve Belichick Varsity Weight Room of the Case Western Reserve Spartans football team is located inside the Wyant Field House at DiSanto Field in Cleveland. The 4,500-square-foot facility was constructed in 2013, funded in part by a donation from son Bill.[16]
In 2019, Struthers High School named its outdoor athletic facilities the Steve Belichick Complex. [17]
12Mihovilović, Maroje (January 29, 2008). "Hrvatska obitelj na vrhu NFL-a"[Croatian family at the top of the NFL]. Nacional (in Croatian). No.637. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
