Dre Bly, who recently stepped down as North Carolina’s cornerbacks coach, has announced a move to the NFL to coach in the same role with the Detroit Lions.

“I’m excited to announce that I have joined the Detroit Lions as the Cornerbacks Coach! Thank you to Mrs. Sheila Ford Hamp and the rest of the Ford Family, DC Aaron Glen, GM Brad Holmes and HC Dan Campbell for an opportunity to come back home!”

Bly spent the past 4 seasons at North Carolina (2019-22). While at UNC, Bly was named Rivals’ ACC Recruiter of the Year for the 2022 class and helped CB Storm Duck earn Second-Team All-ACC honors in 2022 after posting 12 pass defenses and 3 interceptions. Before North Carolina, Bly started his coaching career as a minority coaching intern with the New Orleans Saints for the 2017 preseason and the Miami Dolphins for the 2018 preseason, the Lions wrote in a news release.

Bly played 11 years in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams (1999-2002), Detroit Lions (2003-06), Denver Broncos (2007-08) and San Francisco 49ers (2009). He appeared in 167 games with 116 starts.