**************************************************************************************
Remember, for just $8.33 a month, YOU CAN BE A TAR HEELS INSIDER, TOO!!!
***************************************************************************************
CHAPEL HILL – New North Carolina offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Lindsey met with the media at the Kenan Football Center on Monday for the first time since joining the staff.
Lindsey, who is replacing Phil Longo, who took the same job at Wisconsin, fielded questions for about 20 minutes focusing on the process in being hired by UNC Coach Mack Brown, his thoughts about Carolina’s current offense, most of which will remain intact, and the prospect of working with Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye. Maye also played a role in bringing Lindsey on board.
A longtime high school coach, Lindsey is a self-described football junkie and had already seen a lot of UNC’s games this season, so he had an idea what he would be getting into before speaking with Brown about the vacancy.
In UNC’s press release on Lindsey’s hiring: He’s overseen offenses that have averaged at least 30 points per game in eight of his 11 seasons as a full-time staff member at the collegiate level…
During his lone season as offensive coordinator at UCF, Lindsey guided an offense that ranked 26th nationally in scoring (34.4 ppg), 11th in total offense (480.6 ypg), and eighth in rushing offense (236.1 ypg). The Knights’ rushed for 200 or more yards in nine games in 2022 and their 33 rushing TDs tied for 10th nationally and led the AAC.
Lindsey spent the previous three years as head coach at Troy. During his second season, Troy ranked 21st nationally and second in the Sun Belt in passing yards per game (290.2). The Trojan offensive line ranked third nationally in Pro Football Focus pass blocking efficiency ratings, allowing just nine sacks, six quarterback hits and 45 hurries for 60 total pressures.
In Lindsey’s first season at Troy, the Trojans topped the 500-yard mark in total offense on six different occasions to tie the program’s DI record and scored 35-plus points eight times, which was the second most in program history and fourth most in Sun Belt history. The Trojans finished ninth nationally in passing offense (313.2), 25th in scoring offense (33.8) and 18th in total offense (456.3).
Lindsey guided quarterback Kaleb Barker to one of the best seasons in Troy history. Barker finished third nationally in completions per game (24.92), fifth in yards per game (302.3), fourth in 300-yard passing games (six) and 14th in touchdown passes (30).
During the 2017-18 campaigns, Lindsey served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn. The Tigers defeated Pac-12 Champion Washington and nationally-ranked Texas A&M during the 2018 campaign en route to thumping Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
In 2017, Auburn became just the eighth team in SEC history, and the first in Auburn history, to rush and pass for 3,000 yards in a season. The Tigers ranked 26th nationally in total offense and set an Auburn record scoring 327 points in SEC play. Auburn won the SEC West Division after knocking off a pair of top-ranked teams in Georgia and Alabama over a three-week period.
All-SEC and NFL quarterback Jarrett Stidham, the second Auburn player ever to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, led the conference and ranked ninth nationally in completion percentage. Running back Kerryon Johnson was SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and Ryan Davis set an Auburn receiving record with 84 catches. Lindsey’s first stint at Auburn as an offensive analyst in 2013 resulted in the Tigers winning the SEC Championship and an appearance in the BCS National Championship game.
Above is video of Lindsey’s introductory presser, and below are a few notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
*Lindsey says one of the selling points in taking this job was the chance to work with Drake Maye, who could be the leading Heisman Trophy contender going into next season, and also a strong candidate to go first in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I think that was a huge selling point for sure,” Lindsey said. “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.”
*Lindsey and Maye facetimed during the process, as part of it was Maye giving UNC Coach Mack Brown his take on Lindsey, but it helped Lindsey get a better feel for Carolina, too.
“With Drake, that was an opportunity – I know Coach (Brown) has already talked through that – when you have a player like Drake, you want him to be comfortable and involved somewhat. Obviously, with things in transition, I think that was a great move on coach’s part.
“He’s been doing this for a long time, so he understands the importance of those kinds of opportunities. Drake and I got to spend a lot of time together on facetime, which almost feels like you’re sitting right next to the guy.
“That was a lot of fun, and Drake asked some really good questions. You could tell it’s important to him; football’s important to him.”
*Lindsey watched UNC a lot this season, in part because he likes to watch prolific offenses around the country, but also in the early preparation stages for UCF’s bowl game versus Duke.
“Being an offensive coordinator, you always watch certain teams throughout the year, maybe someone similar to you, looking for new ideas,” Lindsey said. “Actually, we were in bowl prep getting ready for Duke, so the North Carolina game came up a lot when I was at UCF. So, I’m very familiar.
“And obviously when this started with this opportunity being a possibility, I did my research as well…
“We’ve been good on offense here. I understand that. We’ve been good at certain things. My goal is to come in and improve and get better in certain areas that we need to.”
*Lindsey likes the offense, which won’t change. The terminology will remain the same, but Lindsey will tweak some things in part because Brown is adamant the run game must improve, especially in the red zone.
“I think it’s too early for me to identify some specifics other than in this offense, the passing game is something I’ve already been very familiar with…,” Lindsey said. “The concepts are the same, and that’s what I like is this was going to be a smoother transition from my standpoint because I’m already familiar with what they do in the passing game and have been good at.
“There will be some tweaks there as well. But really, the nucleus of the offense is in place.”
*Lindsey started as a true air raid guy in high school, but learned a lot working with Todd Monken and Gus Malzhan who had different offenses. He’s taking the best of what he’s learned, but it’s “North Carolina’s offense”
“I want our offense to be fast, to be disciplined, and to be physical. That’s where we’re going to start,” Lindsey said. “Playing fast doesn’t necessarily mean snap the ball as many times as we can, I want our guys to move around, get lined up fast, to play fast, be disciplined. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties…
“I want our team to be physical. I want our guys at every position, and that’s the o-line, out on the perimeter blocking, that’s at running back, running physical, physical mentality even with our quarterback. Now, I do want him to not take shots trying to run people over or anything like that, but at the same time, Drake’s a really competitive guy. When the game’s on the line, I’ve seen him make plays.
“Those are the three things we’re really going to focus on.”
