Steve Belichick Wants To Be ‘Different’ Than Bill Belichick In New Job

Steve Belichick will coach outside of the New England Patriots for the first time in 12 years, and he’s ready to put a stamp on his identity.

After the Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick, it was up in the air what would happen to his two sons on the staff. The Atlanta Falcons were the only known team to actively pursue Bill Belichick, but they hired Raheem Morris instead. Steve Belichick chose to take the defensive coordinator position at Washington, while Brian Belichick was retained as part of Mayo’s staff.

Steve Belichick joined the Huskies along with fellow ex-Patriots assistant Vinnie Sunseri. It’s a new test for Belichick, especially given the lack of success of his father’s coaching tree. But he hopes to go beyond that in his new stop.

“I would say I’m different from those guys,” Belichick said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” this week. “I grew up with my dad. Being a son, you’re always kind of in the shadow. When he left Cleveland, I was eight, but every since then, I tried to not be him. I want to be Steve. I don’t want to be Bill. People say we sound the same, so that’s one thing I can’t really change, but other than that, I’ll take a couple of things. But I want to be myself. I want to be real with the guys and in the relationships I build, not try to be somebody I’m not.”

Steve Belichick was an expert play-caller on defense, but it’s only natural for others to question how much success he would have had without his father on the sideline. He knows he’ll have to make an impact to prove he can be more than just Bill Belichick’s son.