Bill Belichick's Father Dies

Steve Belichick, father of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and former assistant football coach at the Naval Academy, died Saturday night of heart failure. He was 86.

Belichick served 33 years (1956-89) as an assistant football coach and an associate professor in the Department of Physical Education. He remained closely tied to the Naval Academy and the football program ever since, brining his association with the institution to nearly 50 years.

Following Sunday's Patriots win over New Orleans, Bill Belichick addressed the press.

“Personally, I coached this game with a heavy heart," he said. "My Dad passed away. I found out about it in the middle of last night. Obviously, he had a tremendous influence on my life personally and, particularly in the football aspect, it was great to be able to share the tremendous memories with him and some of our recent successes, as I did when I was a kid when he was successful as a coach of the Naval Academy and that program.

"Yesterday he did what he enjoyed doing. He went and watched Navy play, watched them win. Some of his former players were there. He had dinner and I spoke with him after the game. And like he normally does Saturday night, sitting around watching college football, and his heart just stopped beating. So I'm sure that's the way he would have wanted it to end. He went peacefully, which is unusual for him.”

I'm not going to say much here. I don't know any more about Steve Belichick than you do -- just what I've read in the papers and online and heard on the radio and TV. However, based on those reports and what we know of his son, we get a pretty clear picture of a man who maybe didn't set the world on fire, but he was to what he did the Einstein, the Shakespeare, the George Washington, the Ted Williams. He was a giant among men, and the father of another giant among men. Neither of them professing themselves to be anything but mere mortals.

We (again, that's "me") at Patriots Pulpit wish to extend our condolences to the Belichick family and to Naval Academy on the loss of someone so intrinsic to your lives.

Please feel free to post your own comments. Thank you.

The following is the remainder of the obituary released by the New England Patriots on Patriots.com:

A native of Struthers, Ohio, Belichick was a 1941 graduate of Case Western Reserve where he played football and basketball. A three-year regular at fullback, Belichick led Case Western, a football power back then, to the 1941 Sun Bowl. He was named to the school's Hall of Fame in 1976.

After graduation, Belichick played one year for the Detroit Lions where he played alongside future Supreme Court Justice, Byron “Whizzer” White.

Belichick was drafted into the Navy after Pearl Harbor and became an armed guard officer with an amphibious task force in the Pacific. After the war, Belichick became the head football, basketball and track coach at Hiram College (1946-48) where he met his wife Jeannette.

Belichick's career would take off in 1949 when his former coach at Case Western, Bill Edwards, asked him to join his staff at Vanderbilt. While at Vanderbilt, Belichick and Edwards became such good friends that Steve named his son, Bill, after him. In 1953, Belichick moved on to Chapel Hill where he was an assistant coach at UNC for three seasons before moving on to Annapolis in 1956.

While at Navy, Belichick was known for his meticulous advance scouting of upcoming opponents. He served under seven head coaches in Annapolis, was part of 17 Navy wins over Army, coached two Heisman Trophy winners (Joe Bellino in 1960 and Roger Staubach in 1963) and helped lead Navy to six bowl games, more than any other coach in school history. He also authored a book titled “Football Scouting Methods.”

Steve Belichick is survived by his wife, Jeannette, and son, Bill.