University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick has hired Chris Jones as a defensive assistant, per sources.
Jones has already been working with the Tar Heels staff as Belichick tries to build a winning program for the 2025 season. Freddie Kitchens, who hired Jones as a senior defensive specialist with the Cleveland Browns for the 2019 season, was UNC’s offensive coordinator last year and he’s expected to stay in that role under Belichick.
The 57-year-old has a 61-70 all-time win-loss record as a CFL head coach. He won a Grey Cup as Edmonton’s bench boss in 2015 and was named the league’s Coach of the Year with Saskatchewan in 2018. He won three Grey Cups as a defensive coordinator prior to becoming a CFL head coach, winning one each with the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts.
Jones split the 2024 CFL season between the Elks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was fired as head coach and general manager in the Alberta capital on July 15 after an 0-5 start to the season, ending his tenure with an 8-33 record. Hamilton hired him in August to lead their defence, although the team missed the playoffs at 7-11.
The South Pittsburg, Tenn. native coached at the collegiate level prior to coming to the CFL in 2002. He was a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech University and the University of Alabama. In 1998, Jones was the defensive line coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin. From 1999 through 2001, he was the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee Tech.
Belichick was hired by North Carolina in December after sitting out the 2024 NFL season to work in media. The 72-year-old Nashville, Tenn. native was the New England Patriots head coach from 2000 to 2023, winning six Super Bowls and three NFL Coach of the Year awards.
