NC coach Freddie Kitchens breaks down his iconic career, featuring Nick Saban as well as the Dallas Cowboys

Freddie Kitchens will join the handful of coaches to have worked under Nick Saban and Bill Belichick when the 2025 college football season kicks off. Despite the firing of Mack Brown, Belichick retained Kitchens, who will serve as his North Carolina's offensive coordinator.

Kitchens joined the Tar Heels in 2023 as tight end coach and run game coordinator following his time as an analyst at South Carolina. He was promoted by Belichick this offseason to lead the offense in 2025, showcasing the level of confidence the new coach has in him.

In a short video posted by the North Carolina Football X account on Wednesday, Freddie Kitchens outlined his journey as a coach on both the collegiate and professional levels of the sport. Kitchens' career has seen him work with some notable coaches and teams, beginning in college.

“I've been very fortunate with my career direction,” Kitchens said. “I started at Glenville State College after I finished playing. I left there and went to Louisiana State University, Coach Saban's first year there. I was there for a year and a half."

“Took the job with the University of North Texas. I coached running backs there for three years. I was fortunate enough to be the first guy that Sylvester Cline hired at Mississippi State University, coaching running backs in tight ends the second year.”

Kitchens then laid out his different stops in the NFL.

“I got a job with the Dallas Cowboys. I was fortunate enough to coach some tremendous players there in Dallas with Jason Witten and Anthony Masano. Then I was fortunate enough to go to the Arizona Cardinals. I coach tight ends, I coach running backs, I coach quarterbacks, there for Arizona.”

Kitchens went on to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2019, then worked a couple of seasons with the New York Giants before returning to college.

Freddie Kitchens explains why he prefers to be a college football coach

Freddie Kitchens has worked as a coach at various destinations in college football and the NFL. He started his coaching career at the collegiate level and has garnered significant experience on the professional stage. However, he has a soft spot for the college level.

“The reason why I got into coaching in general was the relationship and the coaches that I had in college, the impact that they had on my life,” Kitchens said. “That's the reason why I was happy to be a college coach.”

“And I got into the NFL and I could see you could do that at times with guys in the NFL, but not on an everyday basis that you can do with college football. So, from that aspect, I've enjoyed being back in college football.”

Freddie Kitchens will get to make further impressions at the collegiate level with North Carolina in 2025. He is bound to play a crucial role in Bill Belichick’s aim to reposition the Tar Heels within the college football landscape.