Is Bill Belichick Croatian? Exploring Patriots head coach's heritage

Bill Belichick is arguably the most iconic head coach in National Football League history. The long-tenured New England Patriots HC has won six Super Bowls with the Patriots and two as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants.

Although Bill Belichick was born in Nashville, USA, he is of Croatian ancestry. The future Hall of Famer's paternal grandparents, Ivan Bilicic and Marija Barkovic, arrived in the United States from Croatia over 100 years ago. Belichick is proud of his roots, and he occasionally wears a jacket on the sidelines with the Croatia flag.

Where is Bill Belichick from?

The co-protagonist of the modern New England Patriots dynasty's grandparents emigrated from the Croatian village of Draganić, Karlovac, in 1897, settling in Monessen, Pennsylvania.

So, while Belichick was born and raised in the United States of America, his father always ensured that he never forgot his proud Croatian roots.

One key example of Belichick being a proud Croatian was when, in October 2022, he sported the Croatian flag below the word 'Croatia' on the right side of his half-zip windbreaker in an NFL regular season game. That was part of a league initiative that saw over 200 players and coaches wear the flag that represents their nationality or cultural heritage.

Exploring Bill Belichick's net worth in 2023

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Pats HC Bill Belichick is worth an estimated $60 million. The New England Patriots legend earns a salary of $12 million a year and is one of the most successful coaches in professional American sports.

Belichick has been coaching in the National Football League since 1975 when he got a job as a coach with the Baltimore Colts. Since then, he has occupied numerous coaching roles such as special teams assistant, receivers coach, defensive assistant, defensive coordinator, and finally, head coach.

Furthermore, Belichick is the de facto general manager of the New England Patriots and is responsible for drafting legends Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and more into the NFL.

Belichick's trophy case is littered with individual and team honors, including eight Super Bowl rings, three AP NFL Coach of the Year Awards, one Maxwell Club NFL Coach of the Year Award, NFL 2000s All-Decade Team honors, NFL 2010s All-Decade Team honors, a place on the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, one PFWA Executive of the Year, and so many more accolades and records during his tenure with the Patriots.