Bill Belichick has achieved great success as a coach as he continues to make his mark on college football.
Belichick has begun assembling 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 had pledged 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 special teams head coach Mike Priefer.
Priefer, who most recently served as the Cleveland Browns' special teams coordinator, is expected to reprise the role in North Carolina, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The 58-year-old has coached NFL special teams since 2002 for several different franchises.
Bill Belichick continues to assemble his staff team in his new role at UNC
Belichick and Tar Heels near agreement with special teams coach Mike Priefer
During his two decades in the professional league, Priefer has worked as assistant special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, as well as head special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Browns.
Priefer is also a former Navy graduate, having served on their coaching staff as a graduate assistant from 1994-96.
Belichick has already jumped into the college process and begun recruiting players and assembling his staff in Chapel Hill.
The head coach recently revealed that he has been using social media to recruit players, despite creating an Instagram account last September.
“Yeah, definitely recruiting – it seems like a lot of guys are coming into the portal every day as the team's seasons wrap up with the bowl games and then the playoffs… a lot of people contact us and want to come to Carolina,” he said to the Pat McAfee Show. in December.
'My Instagram account has been busy. Reading this, I never thought I'd say that, but here I join the 21st century. So that's been good.”
Despite his fast start in Chapel Hill, Belichick has been linked to multiple NFL openings.
Belichick reportedly has no plans or desire to return to the NFL and wants to stay at UNC.
It emerged earlier this month that several teams had approached the 72-year-old about signing him this offseason.
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 accept any offers from the NFL ranks in the coming weeks, according to Athletic's Dianna Russini.
He added that Belichick's “sole focus is training and recruiting for North Carolina, as he continues to build the future of the Tar Heels.”