Bill Belichick pressed on possibility of hiring son Steve to North Carolina staff

As new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick begins to assemble his staff, questions abound about what flavor that staff will take.

Belichick obviously has heavy NFL ties, but the college game has some unique differences. Belichick was asked about his staff makeup on Thursday in an introductory press conference, as well as if and when his son, Steve Belichick, might join the squad.

“On the staff we’ll hire the best coaches we can hire,” Bill Belichick said. “I want to do everything I can to help this program and make it as strong as possible, so we’ll hire the best ones we can get. There are several college coaches that are involved in bowl games and so forth, so I wouldn’t interfere with the process at those schools, with their commitments to their teams. We’ll see how it goes.”

Steve Belichick is currently the defensive coordinator at Washington. He’ll coach in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, so don’t expect much news on him with the Tar Heels until then.

But other coaches can get started now.

Belichick indicated that his first hire would be Freddie Kitchens, who will serve as the interim coach between Mack Brown and Bill Belichick. Kitchens is a long-time NFL coach, but he’s also had stints at LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina.

Other coaches on Belichick’s staff might have a similar resume.

“But look, in the end, I’ve already had a lot of people contact me,” Bill Belichick said. “There will certainly be a strong presence of NFL people on the staff. I think that’s a certainty. And not only in the staff but in the training area. But at the same time looking for the best people we can get for Carolina, and that fit is a little different than what an NFL team would have, but we’ll see.”