UNC Training Camp: Coordinator Interviews

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After working through four practice sessions to open training camp, the North Carolina football team on Wednesday took its first day off from practicing.

Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer were among the Tar Heels who met with reporters at Kenan Football Center.

For Belichick, who joined UNC in December to follow his famous father, and Priefer, who came on board in January, this marked their first time fielding questions as members of the Tar Heels’ coaching staff in such a setting.

Watch those interviews in their entirety below, and read some noteworthy excerpts from their comments. Belichick offered some witty remarks about his family, while Priefer’s connection to UNC stretches back to his childhood, when his dad, Chuck Priefer, served as a Carolina assistant coach under former head man Dick Crum.

Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens

“I just think it’s a great time to be at Carolina, be in Chapel Hill. Now that I’ve been here two years, what a great part of the country this is. And the excitement has never been higher, I think, for Carolina football, which goes over to other avenues of athletics and other avenues of our life. So it’s been great to be a part of that.”

“When Coach (Bill) Belichick came in, of course, I was excited about him coming in. I feel like I got cheated from only having one year with Coach (Bill) Parcells (with the Dallas Cowboys). I was fortunate enough to have more years with other head coaches, but I feel very fortunate that I get to be around Coach Belichick and learn from him.”

“It’s not easy to replace a first-round draft pick at running back, or at any position for that matter. But we’ve got some guys that are excited to be here. We’re excited that they’re here, and we’ll see where it takes us. But those guys are working hard and doing what you’re supposed to do right now. Very pleased with them.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Belichick

“No, I didn’t see it coming. And I take all the credit for him being in college. That’s all me. (jokingly) No, I mean, I just think that for my dad, he loves coaching football. That’s his passion. And so when this opportunity presented itself, I don’t know how it all went down, but I was just as surprised as everybody else to hear him going to North Carolina. It was definitely a little interesting when that happened. But he just loves to coach football, loves to develop players, loves to be around the game. It’s been that way my whole life, and it hasn’t changed yet.”

“I’ll make no plays this year. My stat line will always be zero as a coach. So it’s my job to put those guys in position to make plays.”

“Just being around the game, going all the way back to my grandpa, it’s part of the family. My mom always told me that I could do something better with my life, but I just kind of fell in love with the game. I appreciate my mom for saying that, and at this point, I understand a little bit of what she’s saying. But my grandpa used to say, if you love what you do, then you never work a day in your life. And especially during training camp, where it’s just all football. The month of August is dedicated to football and getting ready for the football season. And I really enjoy that. I love that. It’s a great time.”

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer

“The first time I met coach was in my interview, and that was a great interview. Obviously I’ve admired him from afar for years. But that interview itself was like a couple of hours, and it really went well. And they offered me a job. This is a really the place I want to be, not just because it was Coach Belichick, but also North Carolina itself. It’s such a special place. So obviously, the combination of Bill Belichick and North Carolina was a great combination. I couldn’t pass it up.”

“We talked about the success we had in the NFL on special teams and the places I’ve been, and trying to bring that to the collegiate environment. The schemes obviously will be a little bit different. The players are much younger, so the techniques and fundamentals that we teach, we have to make sure we cover those more often than we would in the NFL. But those are the conversations we’ve had about player development. I think that’s the most important piece for a special teams coordinator, whether it’s in college football or the NFL, is the player development piece. And that’s what we were selling to our players, and they’re buying in.”

“We have 66 people on our depth chart. We have 11 per six phases of special teams. So there’s a lot of coordination there, which I love. I love the challenge of it. But the bottom line is that we have to make sure that we put the right players in the right spots, teach them the right techniques, get the right schemes, and help them be successful. And help our football team become successful.”