CHAPEL HILL – Football can be sort of militaristic at times.
The culture and mentality for sure. The scouting, planning, and battles, no doubt.
Coaches and players often use words like "war" and "battle" and "fight" when describing the action on the field and the needed mental approach to playing the violent sport.
Add to that the discipline with the small things, especially within successful college programs.
So, when North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik walked into his first defensive meeting after being hired last January, the players knew right away he was different and their football experience was about to change. No wavering.
“Coach Chizik starts every meeting where he has this thing, ‘Sit up straight, feet on the floor, eyes ready,’” UNC junior linebacker Cedric Gray said. “And then he’s like, ‘NC,’ and everybody says, ‘NC.’
"He’s commanding the room.”
Chizik is definitely doing that, and then some.
“He’s telling everybody, sit up straight, pay attention, let’s focus, and let’s get into what we’re going to talk about,” Gray said. “Not only him just doing that, but just the way he speaks very proudly. You can see when somebody’s speaking very confident about what they’re talking about.”
Carolina’s defense was draped with a wounded psyche when last season concluded. The Tar Heels were awful in their bowl loss to South Carolina, appearing as if they weren’t prepared or entirely interested. So, UNC Coach Mack Brown made a change, dismissing Jay Bateman and bringing in Chizik, with whom he had experienced tremendous success earlier in their careers.
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One reason the American military mandates such stringent discipline is because it instills individual pride, which translates into a sense of camaraderie in the whole of the unit. This goes for football, too. And getting young men in the still-developing ages of 18-to-22 to buy into all things under the umbrella of discipline isn’t easy, but it can be done, Chizik has proven.
“He’s a natural leader, he took command for sure,” sophomore linebacker Power Echols said. “He came in there and said, ‘This is how our defense is going to be run to this standard, and the standard (is proven) over time. This is the standard we’re going to uphold, and no matter how you feel, you go between those lines, you uphold the standard.’
“That’s what he came in here and did, and we’ve transformed completely – we did a complete 180. Night and day.”
Transform?
“Not transform who we are, just tap into what we can do,” Echols said. “Tapped into what we can accomplish.”
Chizik has refurbished a floundering D in Chapel Hill once before.
In 2014, UNC was a disaster on that side of the ball, finishing near the bottom of the nation in the following categories: Total defense (No. 117); stopping the run (117); passing defense (115); points per contest allowed (116) at 39; third-down efficiency (122); red zone stinginess (109); first downs allowed (116).
Chizik arrived that winter and revamped everything from the scheme to the mentality to the discipline to the fundamentals. Players had pride again, and their performances gave them back their football dignity.
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 dropping the opener. The Heels faced 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.
One more stat from 2015 versus 2014: UNC had a 19.4 percent missed-tackle rate in '14, but in Chizik's first season, it was 10.4 percent. UNC's missed tackle rate last year was 17.7 percent.
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.
Gray and the Tar Heels are well aware of what Chizik did during his first stint in Chapel Hill.
“I’m familiar with what happened when he came to Carolina the first time,” Gray said. “But not only that, I have a huge respect for that man. That man’s won two national championships; one as a d-coordinator and one as a head coach. The man knows what he’s doing, and I think the defense trusts that he knows what he’s doing, and I think we’ll see a big difference this year.”
Chizik was Brown’s defensive coordinator when Texas won the national title in 2005, and five years later, Chizik won the whole thing as head coach at Auburn.
Sophomore defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie says Chizik’s presence alone, and how he goes about his daily business, was a tonic of sorts, given how things played out last season.
“Coach Chiz just brings that energy,” Ritzie said. “He is like the light switch we needed, honestly. Last year, it was tough because everyone wasn't able to say what they needed to say. But this year, every single day, everyone's confident, and everyone is ready to play, so the coach just brings that energy.”
Chris Collins’ first defensive coordinator at UNC was John Papuchis, who coached under Chizik at UNC in 2015 and 2016, and then he was under Bateman’s direction. Respect is a big deal in football, and if it comes from the top, the top gets it back in return.
“He’s big on accountability, and when he walked in, he commanded that respect,” Collins said. “The same respect we give him, he gives it to us back. That’s why I have no problem giving coach Chiz that respect, he deserves it.”
The players sit up when Chizik walks into the room, both feet are on the ground, and they look straight ahead and at him. It may seem tedious to some, but it’s the Chizik Way, and the Tar Heels have fully bought in making it their way, too.
