Detroit Lions announce former UNC assistant, alum Dre Bly as new CBs coach
The Detroit Lions are bringing North Carolina alumni and former assistant Dre Bly back to the NFL.
Bly — who played for the Tar Heels before embarking on a decade-plus NFL career and joining the North Carolina coaching staff afterwards — is taking his talents to Dan Campbell’s staff for the 2023 season.
On Thursday, the Lions made it official, taking to Twitter to make the announcement.
“#Lions add Dre Bly and Steve Heiden to coaching staff,” tweeted the franchise, accompanying a press release.
Moreover, Bly played for a number of teams during his NFL days, including spending 2003-2006 with the Lions. Over the course of his career, Bly amassed 498 combined tackles, 149 pass defenses, 43 interceptions, 20 forced fumbles, 5.0 sacks and five interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Since 2019, Bly had been helping his alma mater — serving as a defensive assistant, though the Tar Heels’ pass defense was nothing to write home about in 2022.
Top 10
- 1
Elko pokes at Kiffin
A&M coach jokes over kick times
- 2
Dan Lanning
Oregon coach getting NFL buzz
- 3Trending
UK upsets Duke
Mark Pope leads Kentucky to first Champions Classic win since 2019
- 4Hot
5-star flip
Ole Miss flips Alabama WR commit Caleb Cunningham
- 5
Second CFP Top 25
Newest CFP rankings are out
However, it’s evident there’s plenty of love between Bly and the school, as head coach Mack Brown wished his former assistant the best when it was announced they would be mutually parting ways.
“We all love Dre Bly and appreciate what he means to the University of North Carolina as a Hall of Famer, an unbelievable advocate for the program, and and excellent coach,” Brown said in the original announcement. “Dre and I mutually agreed to part ways so that he could explore other opportunities in the coaching profession.
“We appreciate everything he’s done for the program over the last few years and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Regardless, Dre Bly gave his all to North Carolina both on the field and on the sidelines. As he returns to the NFL with the Detroit Lions, the football world should expect no different from the Tar Heels legend.