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Steve Belichick’s defense continues to be bright spot for Washington Huskies 

We're just two weeks into Steve Belichick's first season of college football, but the son of the legendary NFL coach is thriving as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies.

By Ethan Lee

Sep 7, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener (42) jumps over the line on a fourth and short Eastern Michigan Eagles down during the second half at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener (42) jumps over the line on a fourth and short Eastern Michigan Eagles down during the second half at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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Steve Belichick's defense smothered Weber State in the Washington Huskies' 2024 season opener and then they had a similarly great performance this past weekend. That's really cool to see, to be completely honest.

Two weeks in and Belichick’s defense continues to produce dominant and stifling efforts for the Washington Huskies.

Belichick (who is indeed the son of that really famous coach with the same last name that you’re probably thinking about when we talk about good ole Steve) may be new to coaching in college, but he looks like a natural as the defensive coordinator for Jedd Fisch’s Washington Huskies.

So far, the 37-year-old defensive coordinator has helped the Huskies keep its first two foes out of the end zone. While Washington has given up a few points here and there, there hasn’t really been any cause for concern on this side of the ball so far.

And as Washington’s offense has started the first two games on a sluggish and disjointed pace, Belichick’s defense has ensured that UW doesn’t fall behind. That’s a good thing to see and it’ll be even more important as competition continues to get more difficult for the Huskies as the season continues on.

Starting with the next foe, the Washington State Cougars.

Washington Huskies vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles: Steve Belichick’s defense smothers opposing offense to start 2024 season

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves while focusing on other foes, let’s look at the most recent Washington Husky football opponent, shall we? 

On Saturday afternoon against Eastern Michigan, Belichick’s defense recorded seven sacks and was able to routinely make things stressful for EMU’s offense. The Eagles’ quarterback, Cole Snyder, only managed to throw for 129 passing yards.

That’s bad for them, but great for the Huskies.

While there were a few moments where Eastern Michigan managed to find a way to push the Huskies around at the line of scrimmage, the Eagles only gained 75 rushing yards on Saturday. The inability to run plus the struggles to throw the ball around led to the Eagles converting just three of their 14 third down attempts. 

Again, bad for Eastern Michigan, but that’s really impressive for UW and Belichick. 

You can chalk some of that up to the massive disparity in talent that exists between EMU and UW, but that wouldn’t tell the full story. Belichick proved that he can coach a solid defense and he’ll have more opportunities to do that up ahead.

It’s not like there are many great offenses in the Big Ten, but there are a few very talented groups on Washington’s schedule this season. This weekend, UW will face Washington State at Lumen Field for the Apple Cup. Later this year, the Huskies will face the likes of USC, Penn State, and Oregon. Plus there’s Indiana, who has scored quite a few points so far this season.

But so far, things look pretty good for the Huskies. Landing Belichick on this coaching staff has (so far) turned out to be a great thing for Fisch and Washington.

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