Bill Belichick’s first coaching staff at North Carolina continues to come together.

Longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Priefer and veteran SEC offensive line coach Will Friend are expected to finalize deals to join Belichick’s staff, sources told ESPN.

After coaching for nearly a decade in college, Priefer started in the NFL in 2002 and was a special teams coordinator in the NFL from 2006 to 2022. He is noted in Browns history as serving as the head coach in a January 2021 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise’s only postseason win since the 1994 season. Priefer stepped in for Kevin Stefanski, who watched the game at home with COVID.

Priefer was the special teams coordinator for the Chiefs (2006-08), Broncos (2009-10), Vikings (2011-18) and Browns (2019-22). He brings ties to the Naval Academy, something he shares with Belichick and his family. Priefer is a Navy graduate and served as a graduate assistant there.

Friend worked last season as Western Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. He brings strong recruiting ties in the South, having worked at Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State as the offensive line coach. He has also worked as the offensive coordinator at Colorado State and WKU.

Friend has a long history of developing linemen for the NFL.

With Priefer and Friend, there are six known members of Belichick’s staff, which includes longtime NFL coach Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator and veteran NFL coach Stephen Belichick as the defensive coordinator.

The hires line up the objectives of Belichick, who has stressed that he wants to run the Tar Heels like a pro program.

Before taking the UNC job, Belichick told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that if he were to run a college program, it would be a “pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL.”

He added: “It would be a professional program. Training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football.”

NORMAN, Okla. — The Red River Rivalry transitions to the hardwood when Oklahoma hosts Texas today, Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10 p.m. Eastern on the SEC Network.

Several streaming services will broadcast the game live, and you can watch on Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and Sling (promotional offers).

Both teams enter this game still looking for their first win in the SEC, holding 0-3 conference records. Oklahoma held the No. 17 spot in the AP Top 25 poll last week, but dropped out of the Top 25 after back-to-back losses to No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 23 Georgia.

Overall, the Sooners are 13-3, while the Longhorns are 11-5. Both teams also enter the first of two games against each other this season on three-game losing streaks. We’ll see which team can start to turn their fortune tonight.

Here’s more details on how you can watch:

• What: NCAA men’s basketball: Oklahoma vs. Texas
• When: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025
• Time: 10 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Lloyd Noble Center | Norman, Okla.
• Channel: SEC Network
• Best Streaming Options: Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial), Sling (promotional offers)

Channel finder if you have cable: You can access the channel by using the channel finders online: Verizon Fios, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – The state of South Carolina now faces a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the misreporting of a $1.8 billion surplus that never existed, lawmakers have confirmed.

Gov. Henry McMaster released a statement late Wednesday after a forensic accounting report that found the reported surplus never actually existed.

“This comprehensive forensic accounting report confirms that there is no $1.8 billion surplus. There is no missing or stolen money. The funds do not exist,” McMaster said in a statement.

The independent report, released Wednesday by AlixPartners, cited “unintended accounting mistakes made by different parties involved in state government’s transition from an old accounting system to the new accounting system,” the governor said.

“I am confident that the corrective measures recommended in the report will be embraced by the parties and the General Assembly so that this does not happen again,” McMaster said.

State Treasurer Curtis Loftis also released a statement on the report:

We thank Alix Partners for their efforts, which have validated what we’ve known all along – there is no mystery bank account with $1.8 Billion in it, no missing money, and all cash and investments are accounted for.The citizens of South Carolina can be confident that their money is safe. We, along with our state partners, look forward to reviewing the report in its entirety.

Click here to read the full audit.

The price tag for the report from the Washington, DC-based financial advisory and consulting firm, was estimated to be as high as $3 million.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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