Bill Belichick's sons not expected to join their dad on next NFL team

Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Football is a family business. Maybe not for everyone, but it certainly is for Bill Belichick, who grew up studying football along with his father, who was an assistant coach at the United States Naval Academy.

Belichick graduated from high school in 1970. Just five years later, he had landed his first NFL gig, operating as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts. The rest, as they say, is history. He’s been an NFL coach every year since.

Somewhere along the way, Belichick and his wife had two kids, who later joined the New England Patriots, working on the defensive side of the ball, just as their father did. Stephen Belichick joined the team in 2012, and in 2020, he became the team’s outside linebackers coach, where he’s operated for the past three seasons.

Then, there’s Steve’s younger brother, Brian Belichick, who joined the Patriots in 2016. In 2020, Brian was promoted to safety coach, a position he’s remained in ever since.

Yet, now Bill Belichick is out, does that mean his sons, Steve and Brian, are too? Not necessarily.

Not even Bill Belichick’s kids are expected to follow him to next NFL job

While many would anticipate Bill Belichick’s coaching sons to follow him wherever he goes next, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer expects a different outcome.

Now that the Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo, who has worked closely with Belichick’s sons on the coaching staff, the expectation is for both Stephen and Brian to remain in their positions in New England.

Breer notes that both coaches are on “great terms” with Mayo, meaning he believes there’s a “good shot” that they both stay put with the Patriots.

Not to mention, if Belichick does land a head coaching gig elsewhere and stays for multiple seasons, we may see his sons join him later on anyway. This way, they get the chance to prove themselves while working with a different group of people. Chances are, they’ll always have a job waiting for them with their father, as long as he’s coaching.