UNC football hires Geoff Collins as new defensive coordinator
Posted January 5, 2024 4:42 p.m. EST
Updated January 5, 2024 7:40 p.m. EST
Chapel Hill, N.C. — The North Carolina Tar Heels football team has a new defensive coordinator.
The university announced Friday it has hired Geoff Collins, who has 27 years of collegiate coaching experience.
"Geoff is brilliant defensive mind, who has been successful at a number of different locations as both a head coach and a coordinator," UNC head coach Mack Brown said in a news release. "His experience shows that he knows what it takes to lead the men in our program, and he'll utilize that experience for the benefit of our defense.
"We were blown away when we interviewed Geoff. He was unbelievably prepared. He had watched all of our games, knew our personnel, and pinpointed the items he'd implement to improve our players and the defensive unit as a whole. I can't wait to get Geoff and his family to Chapel Hill and get to work."
Collins replaces Gene Chizik as North Carolina's defensive coordinator.
On Wednesday, head coach Mack Brown announced Chizik and defensive line coach Tim Cross would not return in 2024.
The Tar Heels ranked 95th in the NCAA in total defense (404.4 yards allowed per game) and 72nd in scoring defense (27.31 points per game allowed) in 2023.
UNC started the season 6-1 and reached No. 10 in the polls before stumbling to a 8-5 final record. UNC allowed at least 30 points to its last seven FBS opponents in 2023.
From 2019-2022, Collins served as the head coach at Georgia Tech. He compiled a 10-28 record during his Georgia Tech tenure.
Before that, he had a 15-10 record as the head coach at Temple from 2017-2018.
Collins served as the defensive coordinator from 2015-2016 at Florida and from 2013-2014 at Mississippi State.
