Carolina Football Adds Chizik, Warren to Defensive Staff - University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Football Adds Chizik, Warren to Defensive Staff
CHAPEL HILL ā Two coaching veterans are returning to North Carolina's football program to strengthen the Tar Heels' defense.
Two-time National Champion Gene Chizik, a 26-year coaching veteran, has been named Carolina's assistant head coach for defense, and 17-year veteran Charlton Warren is the Tar Heels' new co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, Head Coach Mack Brown announced on Saturday. The duo returns to Chapel Hill after working together on the defensive staff during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Chizik, who is a national coach of the year award winner, a Broyles Award winner, and a Broyles Award finalist while at Carolina, reunites with Brown after previously serving as Brown's defensive coordinator at Texas in 2005-06. With his return to coaching, Chizik becomes one of six active coaches to have won a National Championship as a head coach (UNC has two of the six). Warren, who was named one of the nation's top recruiters by 247Sports, brings seven years of defensive-coordinator experience and 15 years of experience coaching in the secondary to Chapel Hill.
"We're excited to welcome Gene, his wife Jonna, and their three children, Landry Grace, Kennedy Danielle and Cally, back to the Carolina football family," Brown said. "Gene is one of college football's great defensive minds and we're excited that he's returning to lead our unit. He's spent the last five years in the media studying college football, so like me, he's had a chance to look at a number of different schemes, while staying on top of how the game has evolved over the last few years. Gene has been approached a number of times for head coach or defensive coordinator jobs during that time, but decided this was the best opportunity at the right time for him. Gene is also very familiar with our current staff, having coached with Tommy Thigpen, Tim Cross and Larry Porter, and having relationships with a number of our other coaches. He also has experience recruiting in our footprint, so we expect our success in that area to continue.