Heel Tough Blog: Steve Belichick on Medial Leave

Jim Dedmon- Imagn Images

After being absent for the first day of fall practice last week, it was revealed on Thursday that Tar Heel defensive coordinator Steve Belichick will be on an indefinite leave of absence from the team.

As his father, Bill, announced at the beginning of his presser earlier today, Belichick is currently away from the program due to medical reasons and there is no timetable for his return. When asked further about the situation, Bill said that he hopes to get him back “as soon as possible”.

Steve Belichick was one of the few positives that you point to last season because of the progress that the Tar Heels made as the season went along and the development that we saw from certain players on that side of the ball. Last season, the Tar Heels allowed 24.5 points per game (fewest since 2019) and 336.9 total yards per game (fewest since 2009). The hope was that he would be able to help this defense take another step this season, but with him currently away from the program, it makes it tougher for that to happen.

When it comes to what the team will do with defensive play-caller duties, Bill Belichick said on Thursday that it will be an all-inclusive process for the defensive staff. “All the people on the defensive staff. We coach the defense collectively as a staff, and so we’ll continue to do that.” The team does have an experienced defensive play-caller on the staff in defensive line coach Bob Diaco that they could turn to if the committee approach doesn’t seem to be working the way they want it to.