CHAPEL HILL - It’s not often coordinators are on the sideline during games, but with North Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and offensive coordinator Phil Longo, that’s exactly what they prefer.

Bateman and Longo were on the field for the Tar Heels’ 24-20 season-opening win over South Carolina on Saturday and they weren’t just strategizing, like coordinators who prefer to spend games in the coaches’ booth in the press box. They were signaling in plays and much more involved with their players than would be possible if they were upstairs.

While this is an unfamiliar concept for many people who’ve followed the UNC football program over the years, it’s far from new to Bateman and Longo. They’ve been coaching from the sideline for a majority of their careers relying on trusted assistants to relay them information from the booth.

Among the eyes in the sky for UNC last Saturday were senior advisor to the head coach Sparky Woods, whose past experiences as a head coach and offensive coordinator are invaluable, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen as well as graduate assistants Quinshad Davis and Jeff Schoettmer. Thigpen was the only position coach who spent the game upstairs.

For Bateman, being closer to the action allows him to have more of a hands-on approach with his players. The former Army defensive coordinator prefers to be more involved and thinks the best way to do that is by being on the field.

“I think, No. 1, I can look in their eyes,” Bateman said. “And they hear from me Sunday through Friday night and then Saturday I’m up in the press box and it’s getting filtered through somebody else and somehow it’s not quite the same.”

Not only does being on the sideline make Bateman feel more comfortable, it also allows him to be more flexible with his play calling and relay the calls to his players more quickly.

“So much of the stuff we do now is checked from the sideline. So much of it is, ‘Oh, ok, they’re in this, let’s get out of this. They’re in this, let’s get into this,’” he said. “I just think when I’m in the press box and I’ve got to get that down to the signaler, I’m not as good at it as I am when I’m on the sideline and I can see it faster.”

Longo prefers to be more involved, too, and knows how important the relationships between he and his players are during games, especially with the starting quarterback. Simply communicating through a headset doesn’t cut it for Longo, he wants to be face-to-face.

“You have to have a really good relationship with your quarterback when you’re calling plays,” Longo said. “And I think part of that relationship is the communication that you have on game day…

“I would rather be down there communicating with the players and interacting with them between drives. That’s why I do it.”

Judging from UNC’s come-from-behind victory over the Gamecocks, their preferred approach appears to be going over well with the players.

Bateman’s defense stole the show, holding South Carolina to just 270 yards of total offense. To put it in perspective, a UNC defense has held an opponent to 270 yards or less just one time since 2013, which came in the 35-14 win over Virginia on Oct. 22, 2016.

Longo’s offense impressed, too, finishing with 483 yards on the day and scoring 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to help engineer the comeback.

“I think it’s better having (Bateman) on the field just because you can talk through things automatically as soon as you step off,” senior safety Myles Dorn said. “You don’t have to go to the phone or have to go through anybody else on the headset. As soon as you walk off the field, you talk to him and make any adjustment that needs to be made.”

Freshman quarterback Sam Howell, who made his debut for the Tar Heels last weekend, shares Dorn’s sentiments with respect to Longo.

“It definitely helps,” Howell said. “You come running off the sidelines and have a face-to-face conversation with him and you can both talk about what you saw on the field."

It may not be ordinary, but the Tar Heels’ new way of running things is working so far as Bateman, Longo and the players are enjoying being closer to one another when it matters most.