Bill Belichick wants this Bradenton high school football coach at UNC, report says

Bill Belichick is aiming to hire IMG Academy head coach Billy Miller to join his football staff at the University of North Carolina, according to multiple reports.

247 Sports first reported Belichick is eyeing Miller, who has coached at the Bradenton private sports academy since 2014.

Miller just finished his second season as the Ascenders’ head coach after spending eight seasons as their assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.

IMG Academy went 7-2 with a No. 17 national ranking, according to MaxPreps, in 2024.

Belichick is in his first season coaching UNC after winning six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots between 2000 and 2023. Belichick also won two Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.

Before coaching at IMG, Miller was a special teams coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and with Rutgers. He was a three-time All-MAC Conference kicker during his college playing career.

“On the staff, we’ll hire the best coaches we can hire,” Belichick said at his introductory press conference on Dec. 12, 247 Sports reported. “I want to do everything I can to help this program and make it as strong as possible. So we’ll hire the best ones we can get. ... There’ll certainly be a strong presence of NFL people on the staff. I think that’s a certainty, and not only in the staff but in the training area, but at the same time, looking for the best people we can get for Carolina that fit.”

The Bradenton Herald has reached out to IMG Academy. A spokesperson for the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.