CHAPEL HILL – Offseason adjustments are a part of college football. And for North Carolina, a major emphasis the last eight months has been fixing what went wrong defensively a year ago.

Much did, as UNC ranked 116th in total defense, giving up 436.5 yards per game, putting the Tar Heels last among ACC teams.

This was a problem Gene Chizik inherited following the 2021 campaign after Mack Brown moved on from Jay Bateman. Yet, year one in Chizik’s second stint didn’t match expectations that he would dramatically change Carolina’s defense as he did in 2015 and 2016 following a disastrous year in 2014.

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However, when a defensive unit gives up 6.14 yards a play, there are a lot of catastrophics mixed in. Many times during the 2022 campaign, fans watched with dread as opposing offenses marched up and down the field, with the Tar Heels oftentimes leaving pass catchers wide open. Blown assignments can usually be attributed to a lack of communication, and that's where Chizik says his group has improved the most.

“I think probably to start, I would say communication,” Chizik said when asked about offseason improvements. “I think there's a lot better communication all around from the back to the front, and that's important.

“Removing the gray on a lot of things that weren't as clear as they needed to be able to play faster and play more violent. And then the technique of everybody… There's a better understanding of what we want on the details of everything.”

Removing the gray area will help the players faster and smarter, which should help communication and prevent big plays. But the improvements don't stop with the athletes. According to Chizik, the coaches also focused on progressing.

“Studying a lot of film in the offseason,” he said. “I think everybody, all the coaches, not just me, did a great job in the offseason of really studying and getting even more on the same page than we were last year, looking at what was good and bad, and growing as coaches. Everybody grows as a coach.

“I don't care how long you do this. You have to continue to grow as a coach. “

The studying that Chizik is referring to didn’t just start in the offseason. While UNC’s defense ranked poorly in nearly every category a year ago, the bad numbers can be largely attributed to poor performances early in the season, particularly the defensive performance against Appalachian State last September. As a reminder: The Mountaineers scored 40 points, gained 338 yards, and racked up 18 first downs in the period.

Carolina’s defense improved in ACC play. While still giving up over 400 yards a game, the Heels reduced scoring against, only giving up 25.8 points per game against conference opponents, ranking in the middle of the pack in conference play in scoring defense.

They also defended the most fourth down attempts in the ACC, giving up ten conversions in 20 tries. At times during the final stretch of the season, the defense helped keep UNC in games while the offense was having more difficult times scoring.

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“We adapted and adjusted as the season went on. You gotta see what your kids are good at and what they're not good at in game-time situations,” Chizik said. “As the season went on, we started seeing what we’re good at, what we were not as good at, tried to implement more of the calls that we felt like we were better at executing, and I think that why at the end of the year we were playing football much better than we were at the beginning.”

And another factor was that Chizik spent five years in TV before returning to help Mack Brown at UNC. So, it took some time for Chizik to shake off the rust, but going into the 2023 season, the coaching veteran is back in his groove.

“You fall back into the saddle, and you have been doing it for so many years, but the game has changed,” he said. “I had to adapt and adjust to some things after being out of it for five years. I’m in a better spot.”

And with the leader of UNC’s defensive unit in a better spot, the improvement should trickle down to the product on the field.