UNC names longtime NFL assistant Kitchens interim coach

By R.L. Bynum

Longtime NFL assistant coach Freddie Kitchens will be North Carolina’s interim coach as the Tar Heels prepare to play in a bowl game.

UNC made the announcement on Sunday after Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham, who fired Coach Mack Brown on Tuesday, met with the football staff. The Tar Heels will not know their bowl destination until next Sunday.

“Freddie Kitchens is an incredibly talented coach who is respected by our student-athletes and staff,’’ Cunningham said. “He is dedicated to doing all he can to help lead our program through this transition, and we appreciate his willingness to take on this role.”

Kitchens, 50, is in his second season as Carolina’s tight ends coach and run game coordinator after serving as a senior analyst at South Carolina for the 2022 season.

The Cleveland Browns’ head coach in 2019, he’s been on the staffs of the New York Giants (2020–21), the Browns (2018), the Arizona Cardinals (2007–2017), the Dallas Cowboys (2006), Mississippi State (2004), North Texas (2001–03), LSU (2000) and Glenville State (1999).

Kitchens, who grew up in Gadsden, Ala., was a three-year starting quarterback at Alabama from 1995 to 1997, throwing for 4,688 yards and 30 touchdowns. He led the Tide to wins in the 1995 Citrus Bowl and the 1997 Outback Bowl. He also played baseball during his freshman and senior seasons.