The UNC football program is adding another piece to Bill Belichick's first coaching staff. Armond Hawkins, who worked with Steve Belichick on Washington's defensive staff, will join UNC as a defensive backs coach.
SOURCE: Bill Belichick is expected to hire Washington’s Armond Hawkins as a defensive backs coach at UNC. Hawkins coached with UNC DC Steve Belichick last year at UDub. He previously coached at Arizona, USC and CU. @MZenitz first reported the hire.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 14, 2025
Hawkins, a former Idaho defensive back from Rancho Cucamonga, California (home of the Workaholics), has been all over prominent west coast programs. He was director of high school relations at Southern Cal, assistant director of high school relations at Colorado, assistant director of recruiting and defensive analyst at Arizona, then secondary analyst and assistant director of recruiting at Washington.
Anyone that was concerned that Bill Belichick would struggle navigating the high school football recruiting scene can rest easier now that he's hired Armond Hawkins. He has reliably worked the west coast, which in seasons prior would have seemed a world away from Chapel Hill.
From a coaching standpoint, Hawkins can hang his hat on Washington's secondary, which helped the Huskies hold opponents to just 22.8 points per game, and 168.8 passing yards per game. Compare that to North Carolina who surrendered 28.1 points and 226.3 passing yards per game.
If Hawkins can realize these types of gains for UNC, the Tar Heels will be an entirely different proposition in the secondary. Let's see if the Rude Boyz can stop being so polite to opposition receivers next season.