College Sports
Belichick’s Tar Heels completed the season with a 4-8 report (2-6 convention).
Invoice Belichick and the College of North Carolina Tar Heels fired two of their coordinators on Friday.
The college introduced that this system parted methods with offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and particular groups coordinator Mike Priefer following a 4-8 season (2-6 within the ACC). UNC didn’t qualify for a bowl recreation.
“We need to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for his or her dedication and plenty of contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick stated in a statement. “We want them each nothing however the most effective of their future endeavors.”
The lone coordinator to be retained will probably be defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the elder Belichick’s son.
Belichick’s first season as a collegiate coach in Chapel Hill didn’t go as he had deliberate. The Tar Heels had one of many worst offenses within the nation with Kitchens on the helm, rating 129th out of 136 complete FBS groups. Beginning quarterback Gio Lopez ranked 98th in complete QB score (51.4), per ESPN. His QBR was the 14th-worst amongst ACC quarterbacks.
Kitchens was UNC’s interim head coach in 2024 after Mack Brown’s firing. He was additionally this system’s tight ends coach and run recreation coordinator in 2023. Earlier than arriving in Chapel Hill, Kitchens held a number of NFL teaching positions, together with Browns head coach in 2019.
As for particular groups, usually a cornerstone of Belichick-coached groups, this part of the sport was a wrestle for UNC. Right here is the place the Tar Heels ranked in varied particular groups statistics:
66th in internet punting
76th in punt returns
76th in kickoff return protection
81st in punt return protection
102nd in kickoff returns
Priefer had been out of teaching since 2022 earlier than becoming a member of Belichick in Chapel Hill. He was beforehand the Browns’ particular groups coordinator from 2019-22.
Belichick was given a “D” score by USA Today of their first-year faculty soccer teaching rankings. The 73-year-old must discover two new coordinators for the 2026 season after a tumultuous 2025 stuffed with off-field drama and on-field shortcomings.
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