Bill Belichick has added a familiar name to his coaching staff at the University of North Carolina.
Belichick hired Jamie Collins, the former New England Patriots linebacker who won Super Bowl XLIX with the team, to join his Tar Heel coaching staff.
Collins will join the North Carolina staff as an assistant on defense, as expected for the former All-Pro.
TMZ Sports reported the news.
Belichick drafted Collins in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Southern Miss. Collins enjoyed a lengthy NFL career, lasting nearly ten years with three different stints in Foxborough.
The former second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection was on the Patriots’ Super Bowl team that defeated the Seattle Seahawks in dramatic fashion in 2015. He was on other successful Patriot teams, and also spent time with the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions.
He finished his NFL career with over 700 tackles, 25+ sacks, and 12 interceptions.
North Carolina hired Belichick this offseason in a shocking move after letting Mack Brown go. Belichick has never been a head coach at the collegiate level, and it’s surely a fascinating time to try it now as the game has gotten even more difficult. But it doesn’t seem like Belichick has been deterred by the new era of college football. Not wavered at all.
We’ll see if it turns out well for UNC.