Washington expected to hire Steve Belichick as defensive coordinator

Washington is expected to hire one of the most well-known names in the industry, with Steve Belichick in position to become the new defensive coordinator for the Huskies.

247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reports that the current expectation is that Belichick will be named to that role going forward.

Belichick spent the last 12 years on staff at New England, working for his father Bill Belichick. Belichick and the Patriots parted ways following the 2023 season.

The tie to the Washington staff for Belichick is that time in New England. Current Washington coach Jedd Fisch spent the 2020 season working as the quarterbacks coach for the Patriots, where he would have developed some level of familiarity with Belichick and his work.

Belichick served in a few different capacities during his time with the Patriots.

He started as a defensive assistant for the organization in 2012, holding that post until 2015. He was then promoted to safeties coach in 2016 and had that job for three years. In 2019 he added secondary duties in addition to safeties.

Finally, Belichick was moved to outside linebackers coach in 2020, where he served until 2023 when the staff was turned over.

Jedd Fisch breaks down transfer portal philosophy

One thing Fisch has had to get a quick handle on since being hired at Washington is the NCAA transfer portal. The Huskies have had a number of players depart, while they’ve also welcomed in others.

Long-term, though, Fisch hopes to be able to build the program through high school recruiting.

“We’re about development here, and what we pride ourselves in is finding high school players and developing them,” Fisch said. “One of the issues that is happening in college football is high school kids are being looked over because everybody’s in this constant quest and pressure to have to win this exact second.”

Fisch has a seven-year contract with Washington, starting at $7.5 million annually. That’s about $54 million overall and he gets 85% of his remaining contract if he were to be fired without cause. That offers Fisch stability that he says helps build the roster the way he wants.

“The beautiful thing of starting on day two of a lengthy contract is, we can find a way to build this team for sustainable success and not feel like every year you have to go find transfers to fill holes,” Fisch said. “Now, we would love to be a team that can sign 20 high school kids every year, 25 potentially, and then use what I call free agency or the transfer portal to fill in the gaps.”

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.