Jamie Collins will be a defensive assistant at North Carolina under his former Patriots head coach.
Jamie Collins, who played under Bill Belichick on the Patriots three separate times, is joining the 72-year-old’s North Carolina football coaching staff.
Collins, 35, says he will serve as a defensive assistant. The role will be his first coaching position.
“Trying to step into another lane that I think I’ll be great at, man, and that’s coaching,” Collins told TMZ Sports. “Blessed for the opportunity. … I love that dude, he loved me, obviously. He can’t get rid of me. So we’ll see how that works out. But yeah, I’m grateful, man. I’m shocked, but I’m grateful and ready.”
The former NFL linebacker is no stranger to Belichick and the Patriot Way. Collins was drafted by New England in the 2013 Draft, and played for the Patriots until 2016. He was a member of the team’s Super Bowl 49-winning season.
Collins was traded to the Cleveland Browns in October 2016 and remained there until 2019 when he signed with New England in 2019.
The following year, Collins joined the Detroit Lions to play for then-head coach Matt Patricia, Collins’s former defensive coordinator on the Patriots. It wasn’t long before he reunited with Belichick on the Patriots in 2021 after being released by the Lions.
It’s safe to say that Belichick was, and still is, a fan of Collins, especially considering that Belichick wanted to bring the former player on to his staff to kick off his football coaching career.
“(Bill), to me, is the best to ever do it. I mean, like, it’s proven. So why wouldn’t I?” Collins said. “Just be grateful and happy and take this opportunity to coach with the greatest, you know what I’m saying? I’m still learning, you know? He gave me a shot. He came, he drafted me, and gave me the opportunity to be a great player, and I became one, and now is coaching. I’m super grateful and I’m excited about this new venture. And I can’t wait for it to get rolling.”
Collins explained that it was pretty easy for him to land on Belichick’s staff. He said all it took was one phone call expressing interest in coaching at UNC for his former coach to sculpt a role for him.
“Honestly, when he got the job, I was like, ‘It would be perfect.’ We were coming back to North Carolina and I reached out,” Collins said. “I just reached out and I told him, ‘Hey, I’m here. I would love to be on staff if you need anything.’ I just reached out to him and he gave me this opportunity and here I am.”
Collins should fit into Belichick’s staff well. He will coach alongside familiar New England faces such as Brian and Steve Belichick, Mike Lombardi, and strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera.
On a related note, Belichick recently said he plans to run his UNC program similarly to how he ran the Patriots.
“Pretty similar, but instead it will be Carolina blue and have the Jordan logo on it,” Belichick said earlier this week.