Despite Bill Belichick no longer being part of the New England Patriots organization, his sons may be sticking around for the new era in Foxborough.
According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Patriots coaches Steve and Brian Belichick have both been "offered the opportunity to return" to to the team in 2024.
Steve Belichick held many hats in his 14-year career since joining the Patriots organization in 2012. He has been filling in as New England's defensive play-caller for the past five seasons since taking over the position for the vacant defensive coordinator role that has been empty since Brian Flores left in 2019.
Belichick has done an admiral job filling in as play-caller, as the three-time Super Bowl champion helped to scheme the Los Angeles Rams to a record-low three points in the Patriots sixth Super Bowl victory.
He also was an assistant for four years until being named the safeties coach in 2016, before moving to outside linebackers coach in 2020, a position he still holds to this day.
Breer mentioned that Steve and new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo have "grown close" after spending the past five years operating New England's defence together. Mayo had previously been the inside linebackers coach since 2019.
Despite finishing 4-13 in the 2023-2024 season, the Patriots defence had been a constant standout. Even with a multitude of injuries to starting players, they finished within the top ten in multiple defensive stats, including a top five finish for total yards allowed.
It's not clear that, if Belichick remains with New England, he will continue to hold the title of defensive play-caller. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday afternoon that Mayo is set to interview Panthers outside linebackers coach Tim Lukabu for the open defensive coordinator position.
Brian Belichick, the youngest of the two brothers, has also been with Patriots since 2016, and has most recently held the title of safeties coach since 2020 after spending three years as a coaching assistant.
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