Bill Belichick’s son Steve has risen up the coaching ranks with the New England Patriots since he joined the staff in 2012. The Patriots have not named an official defensive coordinator since Matt Patricia left following the 2017 season, but there have been indications that Steve is now serving in that role. Bill finally seemed to confirm that following Sunday’s game.
The Patriots held Kyler Murray in check on Sunday, limiting the Arizona Cardinals star to just 200 total yards of offense, no touchdowns and an interception. When asked about containing the quarterback, Bill Belichick credited Steve for his play-calling after the 20-17 win.
“Steve made a couple good calls that put us in the right defense against a couple of those, as well,” Belichick said, via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable. “That was good, too.”
Bill had not previously admitted publicly that Steve was in charge of calling defensive plays. Steve still doesn’t hold the title of defensive coordinator, but he’s the closest thing to it if he’s calling plays.
While there has been a lot of talk about Josh McDaniels taking over as head coach of the Patriots when Bill retires, some believe the coach is grooming his son for that position. It’s possible Patriots owner Robert Kraft would be open to that arrangement, as Steve sounds like a clone of his father in many ways.
