Bill Belichick has secured a major coaching coup as he continues to make his mark on college football.
Belichick has started building his team in his new role as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and is already making waves.
The former New England Patriots head coach promised to bring a “strong NFL presence” to Chapel Hill and so far he’s keeping his promise.
Belichick and the Tar Heels are reportedly close to finalizing a deal with longtime NFL head coach Mike Priefer.
Priefer, who most recently served as special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, is expected to reprise the role at North Carolina, the newspaper said. ESPN Pete Thamel.
The 58-year-old has coached special teams in the NFL for a number of different franchises since 2002.
Bill Belichick continues to build his team of staff in his new role at UNC
Belichick and the Tar Heels are reportedly close to a deal for special teams coach Mike Priefer
During his two decades in the professional league, Priefer has served as assistant special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, as well as lead special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Browns.
Priefer is also a Navy graduate and served on the coaching staff as a graduate assistant from 1994 to 1996.
Belichick has already thrown himself into the college process and started recruiting players and assembling his staff in Chapel Hill.
The head coach recently revealed he is using social media to recruit players, despite only creating an Instagram account last September.
“Yeah, definitely recruiting – a lot of guys entering the portal seems like every day as the team’s seasons end with the bowl games and then the playoffs… a lot of people are contacting us wanting to come to Carolina,” he told The Pat McAfee Show in December.
‘It’s been busy on my Instagram account. As I scrolled through that, I never thought I’d say that, but here I am in the 21st century. So that was good.’
Despite his fast start in Chapel Hill, Belichick has been linked to multiple NFL vacancies.
Belichick reportedly has no plans or desire to return to the NFL and wants to remain at UNC
Earlier this month it emerged that a number of teams had informed the 72-year-old about the prospect of hiring him this off-season.
That included Tom Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders, one of six teams currently searching for a new head coach.
But Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with Brady and the New England Patriots, will not receive any offers from the NFL ranks in the coming weeks, according to Dianna Russini of athletics.
She added that Belichick’s “sole focus is on coaching and recruiting for North Carolina as he continues to build the future of the Tar Heels.”