How much will Bill Belichick’s UNC football coaching staff be paid in 2025?
When Chuck Amato was hired as N.C. State’s football coach, his first coaching staff was collectively paid more than $1 million and set a new standard for NCAA schools.
That was in 2000. Times have changed.
With Bill Belichick taking over as UNC’s new football coach, and getting $10 million a year, his staff of assistant coaches will be paid almost $7 million.
According to the UNC system salary database, Tar Heels defensive coordinator Steve Belichick will have an annual salary of $1.3 million and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens will be paid $1.15 million a year.
Kitchens is a holdover from Mack Brown’s football staff and was the run game coordinator and tight ends coach, drawing an annual salary of $550,000.
Steve Belichick, the defensive coordinator last season at the University of Washington, is the older son of the head coach and was on Bill Belichick’s pro staff with the New England Patriots. Belichick’s younger son, Brian, also has been hired to coach the defensive backs and will be paid $500,000.
Other than the two coordinators, offensive line coach Will Friend will have the highest annual salary among the assistants ($750,000).
The other offensive assistants are: quarterbacks coach Matt Lombardi ($600,000), receivers coach Garrick McGee ($525,000) and running backs coach Natrone Means ($357,000). Offensive assistant Caleb Pickrell is paid $90,000.
Means, a former UNC star, was an offensive analyst for Brown’s staff and had an annual salary of $60,000, according to university records.
Belichick’s defensive assistants, in addition to his sons, are: defensive line coach Bob Diaco ($575,000), cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins ($275,000), inside linebackers coach Jamie Collins ($150,000) and outside linebackers coach Ty Nichols ($124,999).
Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will be paid $400,000 and special teams assistant Billy Miller $190,000.
UNC general manager Michael Lombardi, whose son is the quarterbacks coach, has a $1.5 million salary.
UNC also is paying Belichick’s strength and conditioning staff more than $1 million.
Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the Pats, has said he would model the UNC football program after an NFL franchise, and Michael Lombardi tagged it the NFL’s “33rd team.”
In 2000, Amato was paid $500,000 and his staff had offensive coordinator Norm Chow making a $165,000 salary and defensive coordinator Buddy Green $135,000.
In 1999, NCSU’s staff of nine assistants was paid a collective $770,000. UNC was paying its staff $824,0000.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM.
