Bill Belichick sports University of Washington gear at Huskies spring practice

BOSTON -- Everybody spends their free time differently. Bill Belichick, who finds himself with the most free time he's ever had in his life, has chosen to keep busy by ... going to football practice.

Some old habits never die.

Of course, Belichick had a reason to show up to the University of Washington over the weekend for the Huskies' spring practice, as his son Steve is the new defensive coordinator. And with former Patriots assistant Jedd Fisch being the head coach, Belichick was obviously a welcome figure out in Seattle.

Belichick dressed up in a suit to speak to participants in Washington's coaching clinic at an assembly in the gym:

But he donned some more comfortable sweats to head out onto the field and offer his expertise in any way possible for the Huskies.

"Yeah, it's cool," Steve Belichick said, taking a slightly more serious tone than his roasting of Bill in late March. "I'm glad he got to come out here. I look up to him in so many different areas. But to have him out here has been awesome."

In a podcast appearance earlier this offseason, Steve said his father got to work breaking down the Washington roster once Steve got the job.

"He was excited when I came out here, because he got to evaluate the scheme last year, evaluate the players last year, and I'm sure he'll come out here at some point to do some stuff," Steve told Chris Long in February. "The guy just loves football, so there's definitely that element."

The Huskies are coming off a loss in the National Championship, and they are also losing quarterback Michael Penix Jr. as well as top receivers Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk -- and that's all after losing head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. Getting back to the pinnacle of college sports next season won't be easy, but if Fisch keeps Belichick on speed dial, he'll have that advantage over everybody else in college football.