North Carolina, Mack Brown hire Geoff Collins as defensive coordinator

North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has his man. Brown has hired former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins as his defensive coordinator, UNC announced on Friday.

Collins was the head coach at Georgia Tech from 2019-22. He was 10-28 in 3.5 seasons with the Yellow Jackets.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Geoff Collins, his wife Jennifer, and their daughter Astrid to the Carolina football family,” Mack Brown said in a statement. “Geoff is a brilliant defensive mind, who has been successful at a number of different locations as both a head coach and a coordinator. His experience shows that he knows what it takes to lead the men in our program, and he’ll utilize that experience for the benefit of our defense.”

In addition to Georgia Tech, Geoff Collins made several other stops during his coaching career, including serving as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State and Florida.

Collins is replacing Gene Chizik, who was let go by Mack Brown after two seasons back with the Tar Heels.

“We were blown away when we interviewed Geoff. He was unbelievably prepared,” Brown said. “He had watched all of our games, knew our personnel, and pinpointed the items he’d implement to improve our players and the defensive unit as a whole. I can’t wait to get Geoff and his family to Chapel Hill and get to work.”

Collins has some talent to work with, but overall the North Carolina defense struggled last season. UNC allowed 27 points and 404 yards per game, ranking 10th in scoring defense and 12th in total defense in the ACC.

While Geoff Collins did not succeed as the head coach at Georgia Tech, he has been a successful defensive assistant coach throughout his career. He will look to continue that under Mack Brown at North Carolina.

UNC is coming off of an 8-5 (4-4) season. The Tar Heels got off to a 6-0 start, before going 2-5 the rest of the way.

“My family and I want to thank Coach Brown and the staff at UNC for presenting us with this opportunity,” Collins said in a statement. “I’ve long admired Carolina and know what a truly special place it is. I feel honored and am very excited to get to work with the high-quality student-athletes in Chapel Hill. This past year has been a very valuable experience personally, studying the game from a unique perspective, following the trends, and preparing for my next coaching position. I’m ready for this challenge. I’m excited for this challenge, and I can’t wait to get to Chapel Hill and get started.”