Bill Belichick - Personal Life

Personal Life

Belichick was married to Debby Clarke, but they divorced in the summer of 2006. They allegedly separated before the 2004 season, which was disclosed by the Patriots in July 2005. Belichick was also accused of maintaining a relationship with former Giants receptionist Sharon Shenocca which helped precipitate her divorce. Belichick was seen with Linda Holliday of Jupiter, Florida several times in Arizona during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLII. Belichick also had Sharon Shenocca flown in for the game. He has three children with Debby Clarke Belichick: Amanda, Stephen and Brian. Amanda is a 2007 graduate of Wesleyan University, where both she and her father played lacrosse. After college, she worked at Connecticut preparatory school Choate Rosemary Hall as a lacrosse coach and member of the admissions department. In 2009, she became an assistant coach for the University of Massachusetts Amherst women's lacrosse team, before joining the Ohio State Buckeyes in the same position the next year. Stephen is a lacrosse player who currently attends Rutgers University on scholarship. Brian attends Trinity College, where he plays lacrosse. Stephen was also hired as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots on May 2012.

Belichick is a Croatian American. His father, Steve Belichick (born Stephen Biličić), played for the Detroit Lions and was an assistant coach and scout with the United States Naval Academy football team for 33 years. Bill reportedly learned to break down game films at a young age by watching his father and the Navy staff do their jobs. His paternal grandparents Ivan Biličić and Marija (Mary) Barković emigrated from Karlovac, Croatia (from the village of Draganić) in 1897 and left for the USA, where they settled in Monessen near Pittsburgh.

Steve Belichick was an advisor on the sidelines of the Patriots through the 2004 season, and was famous for taking a hit accidentally from Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown in a game in 2000; he was not hurt in the incident.

Steve Belichick maintained strong ties with the Croatian community in Pennsylvania. When he married, at the suggestion of Immigration Center, he changed his surname from Biličić into Belichick.