UNC football head coach Bill Belichick has begun shaking up his coaching staff, as he announced the firings of both offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer Friday morning.

“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”

The 2025 season was the third in Chapel Hill for Kitchens, who was one of the only holdovers kept on staff after former head coach Mack Brown’s dismissal at the end of the 2024 season. Kitchens served as tight ends coach and run game coordinator under Brown, then took over as interim head coach for UNC’s Fenway Bowl game against UConn last December. The Tar Heels lost that game, 27-14.

Belichick retained Kitchens after joining the Tar Heels and promoted him to offensive coordinator. But UNC’s offense struggled mightily in 2025, ranking last in the ACC in total yardage and next-to-last in scoring. The Tar Heels were one of just two ACC teams to average fewer than 200 yards passing per game (Virginia Tech was the other). UNC also never scored more than 27 points in a game against an FBS opponent.

Priefer joined UNC during the offseason after a long stint in the NFL, one which saw him work for six different franchises across two decades. In Carolina’s three-game losing streak to end the season, the special teams units committed several high-profile gaffes: two blocked field goals against Wake Forest, another missed kick against Duke and a critical fake field goal by the Blue Devils which set up the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Across the entire season, UNC ranked 14th in the ACC in kickoff return average and 12th in punt return average, without a touchdown in either department. In 2024, the Tar Heels had been the only ACC team with two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns.

The departures of Kitchens and Priefer come as several players have also announced their intentions to leave UNC via the transfer portal. The portal will not open until Jan. 2. For a full list of which players are leaving, click here.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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