Mike Priefer - Football Coach - Pitt Panthers #H2P

Mike Priefer

Title:
Special Teams Coordinator

Mike Priefer is in his first season as Pitt’s special teams coordinator in 2026 after serving in the same role at North Carolina in 2025.

A veteran coach with more than three decades of experience, Priefer brings an extensive résumé at both the collegiate and professional levels, including 17 seasons as an NFL special teams coordinator. He held that role with the Kansas City Chiefs (2006–08), Denver Broncos (2009–10), Minnesota Vikings (2011–18) and Cleveland Browns (2019–23), earning NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year honors in 2008.

Across his NFL career, Priefer’s units accounted for 42 scores and blocked 20 kicks across punts, field goals and PATs. He coached multiple Pro Bowlers, including David Tyree, Chris Hanson and Cordarrelle Patterson, who also earned multiple first-team All-Pro selections. In Cleveland, Priefer developed rookies Austin Seibert and Jamie Gillan into PFWA All-Rookie selections in 2019, while Gillan set the franchise record for net punting average.

Priefer made history in 2021 as the first acting head coach in NFL history to win a playoff game, leading the Browns to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round.

With Minnesota, Priefer oversaw one of the NFL’s most explosive special teams units, producing 14 touchdowns from 2011–18. Under his leadership, Patterson twice led the league in kickoff return average and set franchise records with four kickoff return touchdowns. In 2014, the Vikings became the first team in NFL history to return both a kickoff and punt for touchdowns in the same game. Earlier in his career, Priefer helped Denver’s Eddie Royal achieve the same feat.

Prior to the NFL, Priefer coached special teams at Navy (1994–96), Youngstown State (1997–98), VMI (1999) and Northern Illinois (2000–01). At Northern Illinois, he helped Justin McCareins earn MAC Special Teams Player of the Year honors in 2000. At Youngstown State, he worked under head coach Jim Tressel and contributed to the Penguins’ 1997 Division I-AA National Championship.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, who grew up in Chapel Hill, N.C., Priefer played quarterback and wide receiver at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1985–88. Following graduation, he served six years as a naval officer, flying helicopters and completing tours aboard the USS America in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1989 and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1997.

Priefer comes from a football family—his father, Chuck, was a longtime college and NFL coach. He and his wife, Debbie, have four children: Samantha, Michael Jr., Wilson and Katie, and two grandchildren.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Alma Mater: Navy, 1989

Family: Priefer and his wife, Debbie, have four children: Samantha, Michael Jr., Wilson and Katie, and two grandchildren.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

College

Pitt, 2026, special teams coordinator

North Carolina, 2025, special teams coordinator

Northern Illinois, 2000-01, special teams coordinator and defensive tackles coach

VMI, 1999, special teams coordinator and linebackers coach

Youngstown State, 1997-98, special teams coordinator, offensive tackles and tight ends coach

Navy, 1994-96, graduate assistant