Steve Belichick

Stephen Nickolas Belichick (January 7, 1919 – November 19, 2005) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University from 1938 to 1940 and then in the National Football League (NFL) with the Detroit Lions in 1941. After serving in World War II, Belichick began a coaching career. From 1946 to 1949, he was the head football coach and the head basketball coach at Hiram College. He continued on as an assistant coach in college football with stints at Vanderbilt University (1949–1952), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1953–1955), and the United States Naval Academy (1956–1989). Belichick's son, Bill, is the current head coach of the NFL's New England Patriots.

Playing career
Belichick attended Western Reserve University, where he played at fullback, scoring several touchdowns for the team in his senior season in 1940. After graduation, he worked as an equipment manager for the Detroit Lions. The team was struggling, and Belichick reportedly told the coach, Bill Edwards, "I can do better than most of the guys you've got." Edwards, who had coached Belichick at Western Reserve, agreed, and signed him as a player. Though the team's fortunes did not improve, Belichick had some success, scoring a 65-yard touchdown punt return in a loss against the New York Giants.

Coaching career
In 1942, Belichick joined the United States Navy, serving in both Europe and the Pacific. He returned to football when he completed his service, becoming the head coach at Hiram College. In 1949, he left Hiram to become the backfield coach at Vanderbilt University, where he spent two seasons before joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an assistant to George Barclay in 1953. In 1956, Belichick joined the United States Naval Academy, where he served, primarily as a scout, for over 30 years. His book Football Scouting Methods (Ronald Press, 1962) became a standard, described by Charley Casserly as the best book on the subject he had read.

Family
Belichick's son Bill Belichick is currently the head coach of the New England Patriots. The younger Belichick has cited his father, with whom he began analyzing game film at the age of 10, as his chief early influence.