Washington hires Steve Belichick as DC

Washington hired former New England Patriots assistant Steve Belichick as its new defensive coordinator, the program announced Tuesday.

Belichick, 36, joined his father, former head coach Bill Belichick, as a member of the Patriots organization for 12 years. He served as a defensive assistant (2012-15), safeties coach (2016-18), secondary coach (2019), and outside linebacker coach (2020-23) during his New England tenure.

Patriots running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri also interviewed for a defensive position with Washington. Both Steve Belichick and Sunseri worked with Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch when he was the quarterbacks coach for the Patriots during the 2020 season.

Belichick called the Patriots' defense in each of the past four seasons while working closely with Jerod Mayo, who was just named the club's new head coach.

Mayo offered positions on his new staff to Steve and his brother, Brian, after their father's exit from the organization. But Steve decided to explore his options after the Patriots promoted DeMarcus Covington to defensive coordinator.

The Huskies are undergoing plenty of changes after playing in the CFP championship game last month. Coach Kalen DeBoer left to fill the same role at Alabama following Nick Saban's retirement, while several starters from the Pac-12 championship roster have graduated or entered the transfer portal.

Washington's defensive unit finished sixth in the conference in scoring, allowing 24.8 points per game.