FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Over his 17-year tenure with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick has had his sons, Steve and Brian, spend time around the club. Pictures of them together during Super Bowl celebrations are among the unforgettable snapshots.
Now, in a reminder of how time has passed and how the football business is extending to the next generation of Belichicks, both sons are officially full-time staff members with the Patriots -- Steve in his first year as safeties coach and Brian as a scouting assistant.
The Patriots confirmed Brian Belichick's addition to the scouting staff Thursday, along with fellow scouting assistants Daniel Debick (John Carroll University) and Camren Williams (Ohio State). It's an entry-level position.
Brian Belichick, a graduate of Trinity College, had been seen with the Patriots' contingent at the Senior Bowl this year and at spring practices.
In addition to the three scouting assistant hires, the Patriots confirmed the hiring of two new coaching assistants, Mike Pellegrino and Cole Popovich.
Pellegrino served as a football operations intern with the Patriots in 2015 after graduating from Johns Hopkins, where he majored in political science with a minor in entrepreneurship and management. He was a two-time captain and All-American for the lacrosse team as a long-stick midfielder.
Popovich, who played offensive line under former Belichick assistant Pat Hill at Fresno State, joined the Patriots before the end of the 2015 season and was working with the team's offensive line. Prior to that, he was coaching at Minot State, working with the offensive line and as a run game coordinator. He could be groomed as a possible successor to O-line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who has returned to the Patriots this year after a two-year retirement.