CHAPEL HILL - In June, the NCAA Division I Council approved the expansion of college football coaching staffs, permitting an unlimited number of coaches, including analysts and quality control coaches, to be present for on-field instruction.
For North Carolina, this means its already experienced staff became stronger, as few programs equal its combination of playing and coaching experience among analysts and quality control coaches than what resides in Chapel Hill.
“It’s great that the analysts and quality control coaches can coach now, legally,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said last week after the team's first practice of fall camp. “It really, really helps us.”
Clyde Christensen headlines those now able to partake in face-to-face instruction with athletes. Christensen possesses 44 years of coaching experience, including 27 at the NFL level.
He has coached the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck, creating an impressive clientele of quarterbacks. Christensen helped Brady lead the league in passing yards (5,316), passing touchdowns (43), pass completions (485) and pass attempts (719) in 2021, becoming just the third quarterback since 1991 to pace the NFL in all four categories. He also coached current Tar Heel quarterback Max Johnson's father for a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Defensive analyst Ty McKenzie and offensive graduate assistant Kyle Fuller combine for 12 years of playing experience in the NFL, while McKenzie comes to Chapel Hill after six years of coaching with the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins.
At his most recent stop in Miami, McKenzie helped the Dolphins to their first playoff appearance since 2016, and finish fourth in the NFL in rushing defense.
Joining Fuller and McKenzie as part of the Tar Heel coaching staff are Eric Mele, a 20-year coaching veteran at the collegiate level, and Jimmy Lindsey, who also has 20 years of college coaching experience.
Mele has spent 13 seasons working directly with special teams, including the last four at Mississippi State, helping the Bulldogs finish 20th or better in both kickoff and punt returns.
As for Lindsey, his last stint was at LSU. Prior to his time with the Tigers, he spent two seasons at South Carolina, producing multiple draft picks along the defensive line and helping the Gamecocks earn back-to-back top 15 wins. He will work alongside defensive line coach Ted Monachino
Among graduate assistants, analysts, and quality control coaches, the Tar Heels have over 130 years of combined coaching experience and 12 years of playing experience in the NFL.
The expansion of coaching staffs in college football bolsters UNC’s experience in all three phases of the game.
Christensen will play a major role in assisting quarterbacks Johnson, Conner Harrell, Jacolby Criswell, and Michael Merdinger, while Lindsey and McKenzie aid first-year defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.
For Mele, the goal is to turn special teams from a negative to a plus for the Tar Heels. In 2023, North Carolina finished 102nd in punt defense, 124th in net punting, and 127th in kickoff defense.
As Brown adds to an already veteran-laden coaching staff, he expects to see improved play with their efforts.
“That fact that we can add those guys on the field really, really helps us," he said.
The result could be seen soon, as the Tar Heels open in just more than three weeks at Minnesota.
