North Carolina is making its first changes in the wake of coach Bill Belichick’s 4-8 debut season, firing offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday.
North Carolina had one of the worst offenses in the FBS in 2025, averaging 288.8 yards per game to rank 131st nationally. The Tar Heels were also 121st in scoring offense at 19.3 points per game.
Kitchens, who served as Cleveland Browns coach in 2019, had been with the Tar Heels since 2023 and was the interim coach for their Fenway Bowl loss at the end of the 2024 season. Belichick was hired as the new head coach earlier that month.
Priefer was a longtime NFL special teams coach who followed Belichick to Chapel Hill but lasted just one season on the job.
On3 first reported on Kitchens’ firing.