As part of a staff reorganization, North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik will not be returning in 2024.
After starting 6-0, UNC’s defense let them down as the Tar Heels dropped five of their final seven games.
As part of a staff reorganization ahead of the 2024 season, North Carolina coach Mack Brown announced on Wednesday that Gene Chizik will not be returning as the defensive coordinator for the Tar Heels.
Chizik was sent back to Chapel Hill in order to catch up with Brown, who employed him at Texas during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. (In 2015 and 2016, Chizik served as defensive coordinator for Larry Fedora.) After what was called a “mutual parting of ways,” the former national championship-winning head coach left, and North Carolina will immediately launch a nationwide search for a new defensive coordinator.
In an official statement, Chizik noted that during his four years at North Carolina, he had contributed to 36 victories and two ACC Coastal championships (in 2015 and 2022). Moreover, Brown stated that even though the defense improved from 2022 to 2023, it would be best for both
Senior defensive analyst Ted Monachino replaced Tim Cross as defensive line coach, capping Cross’s five-year tenure with Brown and the Tar Heels, as one of the other changes to Brown’s defensive staff. Co-defensive coordinator Charlton Warren has also changed positions; he is now the Assistant Head Coach for Defense and is in charge of the defensive backs.
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After a 6-0 start to the season, North Carolina’s defense finished the season ranked No. 98 nationally in yards per game allowed (404.4) and No. 65 in yards per play allowed (5.62). Defensive deficiencies were a major factor in the Tar Heels’ late-season collapse, which saw them lose five of their final six games against FBS opponents.
Brown, in his second stint as head coach of North Carolina, is about to hire his third defensive coordinator as he prepares for his sixth season in that role. Following two years on the Florida staff, Jay Bateman was recently hired as Texas A&M’s new defensive coordinator. Bateman held the position for the first three years before being a part of another defensive staff reorganization.
Chizik’s return was intended to shore up a defense that had been known to give up big plays. However, North Carolina’s defensive collapse from the previous season was so severe that the team finished dead last in the ACC in terms of yards per play (6.14) and yards per game (436.5). Brown is right that there was improvement in 2022 compared to 2023, but
In addition to two NFL quarterbacks and five years in a row of offenses that finished no lower than third in the ACC, Brown’s recent tenure at North Carolina has also included instability on the defensive coaching staff and below-average defensive on-field performances. Future success for North Carolina depends heavily on the defense being stabilized, which makes Chizik’s replacement even more crucial.
