North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick made a significant announcement about his son, Tar Heels defensive coordinator Steve Belichick.
Bill Belichick announced Thursday that Steve has been placed on indefinite medical leave. Belichick offered no possible return date, only saying that his son would return to the job “as soon as possible.”
UNC coach Bill Belichick announces that defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is on medical leave. I asked if he'd be back for the season opener, and Bill Belichick said only that he'd be back "as soon as possible."
— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) August 6, 2026
Steve has long been one of his father’s trusted lieutenant. He held several roles on the New England Patriots’ defensive coaching staff while his father was head coach. He spent one year as defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies, but left that job to take the same role at North Carolina when his father became head coach there.
There have even been claims that Steve could be his father’s long-term successor at North Carolina, though that talk was floating around before the Tar Heels’ underwhelming first season under Belichick.
This is just the latest in a long line of rather tumultuous developments for the Tar Heel program. General manager Michael Lombardi is on administrative leave over an HR complaint, while there have also been complaints about the general behavior of players.
