North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick recently released his full coaching staff for the 2025 season. As expected, this group includes a lot of individuals with a lot of NFL experience and a few who have spent considerable time around Bill.
Let’s take a deep dive into who the greatest football coach of all time has brought in to be a part of his staff as he takes on the college level of football coaching.
Coordinators
Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends - Freddie Kitchens
Kitchens returns to Chapel Hill where he served as the TE coach and run game coordinator the past two seasons. He has coached for 25 years at both the college and professional level including one year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The only other places Kitchens has held an OC role was in an interim role with Browns (2018) and New York Giants (2021).
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers - Steve Belichick
Steve returns to his fathers coaching staff after spending last season as DC with the Washington Huskies. Prior to that he served as a defensive position coach with the Patriots from 2012-2023. During the end of Bill’s tenure in New England he did not officially name a defensive coordinator, but Steve was the one calling the defense.
Special Teams Coordinator - Mike Priefer
Prifer returns to the college level after 21 years in the NFL where he spent 17 as a ST coordinator. He played football and served as a graduate assistant at Navy which is where Bill’s father coached for over 30 years and is a place he is very fond of. Priefer last coached in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns.
Offensive Assistants
Quarterbacks - Matt Lombardi
Lombardi most recently served as an offensive analyst at Oregon. Prior to that he coached in the NFL for several years as an assistant, but began his career at the college level. He is also the son of UNC general manager Michael Lombardi.
Offensive Line - Will Friend
Friend brings a ton of college coaching experience to Chapel Hill. He most recently was the OC at Western Kentucky and has served as the line coach at several high level programs such as Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia. Belichick and GM Lombardi have made it known that building up a strong O-line will be a big emphasis in their program, so Friend was an important hire.
Running Backs - Natrone Means
Means returns to his alma mater where he has been an offensive assistant for the past four years. Prior to that he coached at the non Division I level. As a Tar Heel he rushed for over 3,000 yards before going on to play in the NFL for seven years. In 1996 Means rushed for 43 yards on 19 carries in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots with Bill Belichick as the assistant head coach and DB coach.
Wide Receivers - Garrick McGee
Another longtime college coach who has bounced around a lot as a coach. McGee has worked with receivers and QB’s and served as an offensive coordinator at four different schools. Over his 28 year coaching career, McGee has been with 13 different teams and has not spent more than four consecutive years at the same place. Most recently he was the WR coach at Louisville.
Defensive Assistants
Defensive Line - Bob Diaco
Diaco is another guy who has spent a large portion of his life in college football. He was the head coach at UConn from 2014-2016 and has been a part of several successful defensive staffs. He came up in the coaching ranks under Brian Kelly at Cincinnati and Notre Dame where he won the Broyles Award for best assistant coach. Diaco rejoined Kelly at LSU where he has been the past three seasons.
Inside Linebackers - Jamie Collins
The 11-year NFL veteran will begin his coaching career at UNC after retiring in 2023. Collins spent seven seasons over three different stints with the Belichick led Patriots. He was part of New England’s Super Bowl XLIX victory and led the team in tackles that season. Having a younger guy who has played for Bill, understands what he is trying to do as coach, why he is doing it, etc. will be key and in my mind makes Collins one of the most important members of this staff.
Defensive Backs/Safeties - Brian Belichick
Another son of Bill’s who was a part of his staff in New England. He began his coaching career in 2016 as a coaching assistant and worked his way up to safeties coach in 2020. He remained in that position up until this year as he remained with the Patriots even after his father Bill was let go.
Outside Linebackers - Ty Nichols
Nichols is a young coach that you would have to think Belichick sees something in with giving him a role on his staff. He was last at Arizona as a defensive graduate assistant and analyst. He also coached at the high school level in Texas so he is likely very familiar with that area and will be tasked with recruiting that state that is filled with football talent.
Cornerbacks - Armond Hawkins
Hawkins came alongside Steve from Washington where he coached the secondary. He has also spent time at programs in a recruiting role including being the Director of High School Relations at USC from 2020-2022, so he will be another big recruiter for the Tar Heels.