Legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick is in the midst of putting together his first college coaching staff at North Carolina. That staff is reportedly going to include a former Tennessee assistant coach.
Belichick is hiring former Tennessee offensive line coach Will Friend as his offensive line coach for the Tar Heels, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported on Wednesday afternoon.
Friend was on Jeremy Pruitt’s staff at Tennessee from 2018-2020. The Vols’ offensive line was very shaky during that time but Friend helped recruit a number of key Tennessee offensive linemen over the last few years including Darnell Wright, Cooper Mays and Javontez Spraggins.
Following his time at Tennessee, Friend served as Auburn’s offensive line coach from 2021-22, Mississippi State’s offensive line coach in 2023 and Western Kentucky’s offensive coordinator this past season.
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At Western Kentucky, Friend worked for his former co-worker at Tennessee— Tyson Helton. Helton was the Vols’ offensive coordinator in 2018 before leaving to become the Hilltoppers’ head coach. Western Kentucky boasts a 48-32 record in Helton’s six seasons as head coach.
Prior to Friend’s time at Tennessee, he served as offensive line coach at Georgia from 2011-14 and as offensive coordinator at Colorado State from 2015-17.
Friend has an abundance of experience in the SEC but no experience in his life in the ACC as he now goes to work for Belichick. The state of North Carolina has been fertile recruiting ground for Josh Heupel and his staff in recent years.
They will certainly go head-to-head with Belichick in the coming years and it could include battles with Friend for top offensive linemen.