Chizik Looking To Re-Create His Magic From 2015
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CHAPEL HILL – Can Gene Chizik do for North Carolina what he did in 2015?
That is his task. Simple, but not so simple.
When Larry Fedora brought in Chizik to rebuild a dysfunctional defense that set records for futility, he first had to mend some fences and massage some psyches. The Tar Heels on that side of the ball were wounded.
They were beaten down, had no confidence in the system, the previous coordinator Vic Koening, and as a result a talented team finished 6-7, with the capper an embarrassing loss to Rutgers in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
Sound familiar?
Chizik worked some serious magic that first year, dramatically improving Carolina’s defense. In 2014, the Tar Heels finished ranked No. 117 in total defense allowing 497.8 yards per game. They were No. 117 in rushing defense, No. 115 in pass efficiency defense, No. 116 in scoring defense allowing 39.0 points per game.
They were also No. 122 in third-down defense, No. 109 in red zone defense, and No. 116 in first downs allowed.
The Tar Heels were a mess on that side of the ball, similarly to how they were for much of this season. So, what did Chizik do in year number one?
They improved by 60 yards a game allowed, moved up to No. 42 in scoring defense allowing 24.5 points per game, and the Tar Heels forced 26 turnovers. They also went 11-3 that season, winning 11 consecutive games after losing the opener, and playing top-ranked Clemson in the ACC championship game. A contest Carolina was an onside kick in the final minute away from possibly pulling off the upset and landing in the College Football Playoff.
The same approach Chizik used then is what he plans on employing now.
“There’s nuts and bolts of things that will never change,” he said Thursday, during his introductory press conference. “This game is about tackling, this game is about attacking, this game is about execution, limiting the catastrophic and big plays. So that’s going to be the nuts and bolts of everything that we talk about.
“The day we set our feet on the practice field, it’s going to be about attacking, it’s going to be about fundamentals, it’s going to be about tackling. Because no matter what happens on the field, those things never change.”
He isn’t inheriting a defense as downtrodden as was that 2014 unit, but there is a reason Mack Brown made a change, swapping out Jay Bateman for Chizik.
The 2021 Tar Heels finished No. 94 in total defense allowing 418 yards per contest. They were No. 105 in scoring defense, allowing 32.1 points per game, No. 97 in stopping the run, No. 103 in pass efficiency defense, No. 99 defending third downs, and No. 118 in first downs allowed.
Last year’s unit wasn’t in the kind of disarray the 2014 group was, but there were some growing issues, most of which stemmed from a defensive approach that just didn’t work. Be it pre-snap communication, crisscrossing of assignments, and perhaps a scheme too complicated and involved that it limited the natural talents of some players.
The commonality is the dire need for repair on that side of the ball. Brown made a significant departure from Bateman, whose only Power 5 experience were his three seasons in Chapel Hill, for Chizik, who has spent pretty much this entire decade either in a power conference or on national television as an analyst.
The mass-communication in pre-snap for the more simplified attack approach is also part of this transition. Brown is looking for Chizik and Charlton Warren, whom Chizik requested join him at UNC this time, after Warren has spent time at Tennessee, Georgia, and last season was the defensive coordinator at Indiana.
“(Chizik) had major influence, along with Coach Warren, when they were here in 2015 and taking the team to the ACC championship game…,” Brown said, clearly hoping to tap into some of that magic. “He’s fundamentally sound. He commands the team, he commands the room, he’s one of the best at defense I’ve ever seen."
Carolina still allowed plenty of yards under Chizik, but it was a bend-but-don’t break approach hellbent on limiting big plays, or “catastrophic,” as Chizik called them. This hits right at the core of how the season played out for Bateman’s crew.
They bent a ton, often because of too many big plays allowed, but that opponents had 32 drives of 75 or more yards, of which 31 resulted in touchdowns is where Chizik could make the biggest difference.
Every head coach in America will say the most important stat is the scoreboard, so it’s one thing to give up a lot of yards, but it’s something entirely worse giving up a lot of points, too.
“They’ll be hearing a lot about the catastrophic plays,” Chizik said, referring to the players. “That’s what I’ve always built the foundation on defensively, and it goes back to the consistency message, right: Not giving up catastrophic plays, catastrophic passes, catastrophic runs.
“What does that mean for people who don’t know, it means simply when you’re giving up plays of 50 and 60 yards, there’s an issue somewhere. And typically, that happens because you’ve got guys with eyes in the wrong place, or there was miscommunication – I thought I should have been here, I needed to be here. Those are catastrophic plays.”
Chizik said if players’ eyes are in the wrong spots they won’t make plays. It makes them slower off the snap, and thus, slower for that play. And he wants the opposite. Chizik wants to dictate on defense, even if it’s not for every snap but certainly in key segments of games.
Bateman’s defense simply couldn’t get off the field once the opposition started moving downhill. Chizik’s specialty is getting enough of those stops to win games.
That is why a change was made, and why Brown called on Chizik. He could have remained in television. It was a fun gig, a well-paying one, and it kept him in the sport he clearly loves.
But Brown came calling and Chizik had a calling. He wanted to give this a go one more time, and says Brown and UNC are “the perfect fit.”
And Brown couldn’t be happier, as he clearly articulated.
“We’re so lucky to have him here.”