Source: Brian Belichick will remain with Patriots

Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 7, 2024, 09:29 PM ET
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots safeties coach Brian Belichick, the youngest son of former head coach Bill Belichick, is remaining with the team, a source said Wednesday.

In his role as safeties coach the past four seasons, Brian Belichick worked closely with Jerod Mayo, the linebackers coach who was tapped by owner Robert Kraft as his father’s successor.

Mayo previously referred to Brian Belichick as a “great coach” while acknowledging that he had the option to stay with the franchise if he desired. Belichick’s brother, Steve, also had the opportunity to remain in New England but will serve as University of Washington defensive coordinator in 2024.

This will be Brian Belichick’s ninth year with the Patriots. He began as a scouting assistant (2016) and coaching assistant (2017 to 2019) before taking over the safeties, a role he could fill under Mayo and first-year defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, the team’s former defensive line coach.

Brian Belichick’s return highlighted a busy day of front office and coaching news for the Patriots.

Alonzo Highsmith, who spent the past two seasons as general manager for the University of Miami football program, has agreed to join New England as a senior personnel executive, a source confirmed.

The Athletic first reported Highsmith’s move, with Highsmith later posting about his departure from Miami.

Highsmith joins director of scouting Eliot Wolf, director of player personnel Matt Groh, senior personnel adviser Patrick Stewart, college scouting director Camren Williams and pro scouting director Steve Cargile among those leading the personnel department.

Wolf, in particular, has seen his responsibilities grow in recent weeks, sources said. He has been part of interviews alongside Mayo as they work to fill out the coaching staff. The addition of Highsmith is a further reflection of Wolf’s growing influence in shaping the Patriots’ organization, as Wolf and Highsmith had worked together with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns over eight seasons (2012 to 2019).

The Patriots are transitioning away from a system in which the head coach has final say on personnel decisions, which Kraft had said Bill Belichick had earned for the majority of his tenure. Kraft previously said he is seeking collaboration and will ultimately assign someone final decision-making authority in the future — with Wolf viewed as the most likely choice.

Elsewhere, the Patriots have reached agreements with former Browns assistant coaches T.C. McCartney (quarterbacks) and Scott Peters (offensive line) to join the coaching staff. Both worked alongside first-year offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in Cleveland.