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CHAPEL HILL – College football is just different these days. Really different.

From the portal to immediate eligibility for transfers, NCAA waivers, NIL, and the NCAA looking the other way at obvious tampering and misconduct running rampant in the sport, players have more power than ever.

For North Carolina, an example of that is how head coach Mack Brown went about securing a new offensive coordinator to replace Phil Longo, who left two weeks ago for the same spot at Wisconsin.

Brown kept the process tight, as he always does, but he included someone that was well out of the norm for him in previous searches. But again, times have changed.

“Drake (Maye) got offered a lot of money to go to different schools,” Brown said about his quarterback during a press conference Monday at the Kenan Football Center. “It’s tampering, it’s 100 percent tampering. He got offered money, but he decided to stay.

“So, for the first time in my career, I had him talk to a couple of candidates I was talking to, because it was important for me. Not that he’d hire, but that I wanted his opinion before they got here.”

Though just a redshirt freshman, Maye is on a different level than most college players. Not just with his physical gifts, but in how he approaches the game and his overall maturity. Perhaps Brown was appeasing his star player, but also getting quality insight from one of the sharper players he’s coached.

Two requisites were on the table in the search: Someone who wouldn’t look to change UNC’s offense into their own; and a coach who could shore up Maye’s game.

“Fundamentals,” Brown said, noting what Maye is looking to improve. “Drake wants somebody to work with him on his footwork, because he’s such a great player. He can throw off-balance and awkward, a lot of people can’t do. But once he sets his feet, he’s so accurate. So, I think that will be one of the biggest things.”

And, keeping everyone in the same offense without altering the lingo is a boon to each player on that side of the ball, as well as the QB. So, when Chip Lindsey was adamant to Brown that was fine with him because of his comfort in an air raid offense, the match was made.

“He didn’t want to fix it, he wanted to tweak it,” Brown said about Lindsey. “And I didn’t want somebody coming in and starting over. I didn’t want somebody coming in with their system. I want this system to get better.”

Lindsey’s history running offenses is impressive, from his time at Auburn to serving as Troy’s head coach, to this past season at Central Florida. Brown calls him a “football junkie” going back to his roots as a studious high school coach.

It helped that when Lindsey spoke with Brown, he was already quite familiar with the Tar Heels and Maye. Lindsey spends a lot of time watching offenses that run similar stuff and that have plenty of success, and UNC’s has been regarded as one of the top offenses in the nation over the last few years.

So, when Maye and Lindsey facetimed with each other, there was familiarity on Lindsey’s part to where he connected with Maye. It made Maye comfortable, and the conversations quickly got into more nitty gritty mode. They quickly talked shop.

“I think that was a huge selling point for sure,” Lindsey said about coaching the possible top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but also someone with whom he was immediately comfortable. “Drake is a very talented guy, just an outstanding young man. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. Getting an opportunity to coach a guy that should be and is one of the better ones in the country is really exciting.

“And the thing about Drake, too, right off the bat, he’s very personable, looks you in the eye when talking to you, very intelligent, understands football. And obviously, I know about his family with all the tradition here with North Carolina, so I’m a lucky guy, definitely blessed to be here, and looking forward to it.”

In spite of numerous erroneous reports that Brown spoke with many candidates about the job, he actually only talked with two people, and Lindsey got the nod.

Lindsey brings to UNC exactly what Brown was looking for, but the veteran Hall of Fame coach has no qualms giving credit to the ACC Player of the Year for landing Lindsey as well.

“I promised him I’d get him a great teacher that would help him with his footwork…,” Brown said. “Drake is really excited about him… Drake didn’t hire him, but he sure approved of him.”

The college football landscape has shifted a great deal in recent years, but in this case, it worked to the Tar Heels advantage.