What is Bill Belichick’s father’s connection to UNC? Exploring the family background of the Tar Heels coach

Bill Belichick is inching closer to his collegiate coaching debut with the North Carolina Tar Heels. The 8x Super Bowl champion was brought in as Mack Brown's replacement after the 2024 season.

Bill Belichick was taught the art of coaching by his dad, Steve Belichick. Just like his son, Steve spent some time with the North Carolina Tar Heels back in the day. So what was his connection to UNC?

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What is Bill Belichick's father's connection to UNC?

After his stint with Vanderbilt, Steve Belichick arrived at Chapel Hill as the backfields coach in 1953. He spent three seasons with the Tar Heels under then-head coach George Barclay.

In his debut season at Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels finished with a 4-6 campaign. During his stint, the team did not win more than four games in a season. After a disappointing 3-7 campaign in 1955, UNC fired Barclay, while Steve Belichick joined the Navy Midshipmen as a scout.

Bill Belichick credits most of his achievements and success as a coach to his father's guidance. He remained a student of the game for over six decades, influencing his outlook and preparations. His most notable time in the NFL was as the head coach of the New England Patriots.

During this stint, he led the franchise to seven Super Bowl championships with NFL legend Tom Brady by his side. Belichick also won two Lombardi Trophies as an assistant coach with the New York Giants (Super Bowl XXI and XXV).

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Bill Belichick recalls what he learned from his dad, Steve Belichick

In December 2024, Bill Belichick had his first press conference after being named the head coach of the Tar Heels. He opened up about what he learned from his father, who was regarded as a talented scout for the Navy Midshipmen.

Bill stated that he learned many important things, like planning and execution, from his dad. He also thanked Steve for sharing his knowledge of the game with him.

"What I remember from being with my dad was when we would go scout a game, you had one look at every play....There was no replay board. There was no TVs in the press box. There was, you had one look at it."

"And he had his pad, he had what he worked off of....He had to get the whole play. And you had one look, and that's it.....But he taught me how to watch football, how to watch the key thing, how he learned, how he trained his eyes to go from one part of the play to another part of the play based on what the initial read was as a scout. And so those things were very valuable."

The Tar Heels believe Bill Belichick can help the football program flourish like the University's basketball program. They begin their new journey under Belichick with a season opener against TCU in September.