Steve Belichick’s latest coaching stop has ended abruptly.
The former New England Patriots assistant resigned as North Carolina’s defensive coordinator on Thursday, Sept. 17, according to On3, citing ESPN senior college football writer Pete Thamel.
Belichick had been away from the Tar Heels since Aug. 6 while on medical leave, leaving his father, head coach Bill Belichick, to take on a larger role with the defense. An immediate reason for the resignation was not included in the initial report.
The move closes another chapter for one of the more familiar names from the final stretch of Bill Belichick’s 24-year run in New England. Steve Belichick spent 12 seasons on the Patriots’ staff before leaving after the 2023 season, ultimately moving into defensive coordinator jobs at Washington and North Carolina.
Steve Belichick Spent 12 Seasons With Patriots
Belichick entered the NFL with New England as a coaching assistant in 2012 and steadily climbed the defensive staff. North Carolina’s official coaching biography lists him as a defensive assistant from 2012-15, safeties coach from 2016-18, defensive backs coach in 2019 and outside linebackers coach from 2020-23. He also handled the Patriots’ defensive play-calling duties over his final four seasons with the franchise.
His tenure overlapped with five Super Bowl appearances and three championships.
Belichick took on an increasingly prominent role on his father’s staff. In 2020, Patriots.com highlighted Bill Belichick publicly crediting his son with making key defensive calls during a victory over Arizona. New England operated without a coach carrying the formal defensive coordinator title during that stretch.
His position groups also produced notable individual performances. Belichick worked with Matthew Judon during back-to-back career-high sack seasons in 2021 and 2022, including Judon’s 15.5-sack campaign in 2022. Belichick previously coached the secondary in 2019, when Stephon Gilmore earned AP Defensive Player of the Year honors and New England led the NFL in total defense and scoring defense.
Even during the Patriots’ 4-13 finish in 2023, Belichick’s final defense ranked sixth in the NFL at 301.6 yards allowed per game and third against the run, according to his UNC biography.
That action helped Belichick land the Washington defensive coordinator job in 2024 before he reunited with his father at North Carolina in 2025.
UNC Resignation Follows Medical Leave, Ongoing Investigation
Belichick’s departure comes during a complicated stretch for the North Carolina program.
WRAL reported on Sept. 3 that attorneys conducting a university investigation had questioned people connected to the program about allegations involving Belichick, including whether he used drugs at university facilities or provided drugs to a player. The report didn’t establish that those allegations were true, and Belichick did not respond to WRAL’s request for comment at the time.
The university had previously disclosed only that Belichick was on medical leave. Bill Belichick said it was a “medical situation” and declined to provide additional details.
North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi also resigned Sept. 3 while the university’s investigation remained active. UNC said following Lombardi’s departure that the investigation would continue and that the school would consider appropriate corrective actions based on its findings.
Steve Belichick’s resignation has an unmistakable New England connection. He spent more than a decade developing inside his father’s defensive system, rose from coaching assistant to defensive play-caller and was on staff for the franchise’s final three Super Bowl victories of the Bill Belichick era.
His next step is now uncertain after more than two seasons away from the NFL.
Son of Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Quits Job Following Medical Leave