After one season at the University of North Carolina under head coach Bill Belichick, former Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer was relieved of his role at the school on Friday.
Priefer spent the 2025 season as North Carolina's special teams coordinator, and his performance clearly wasn't good enough for Belichick to keep him on his staff for the 2026 campaign.
According to Inside Carolina's Jeremiah Holloway, the Tar Heels ranked "12th in the ACC as a punt return team, 14th as a kick return team and 11th in punting," in addition to ranking "11th in the opponent kickoff return game and 10th in opponent punt return" with Priefer leading the unit.