North Carolina announces Gene Chizik hire among coaching moves

It’s official. Gene Chizik and Mack Brown are reuniting at North Carolina.

The Tar Heels announced Saturday that Chizik will be their assistant head coach for defense. In addition, Charlton Warren is coming on as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach after two years at Indiana.

“We’re excited to welcome Gene, his wife Jonna, and their three children, Landry Grace, Kennedy Danielle and Cally, back to the Carolina football family,” Brown said in a press release. “Gene is one of college football’s great defensive minds and we’re excited that he’s returning to lead our unit. He’s spent the last five years in the media studying college football, so like me, he’s had a chance to look at a number of different schemes, while staying on top of how the game has evolved over the last few years.”

It’s a reunion for Brown and Chizik. They worked together at Texas from 2005-06 and won the 2005 national championship with the Longhorns.

Chizik would bring plenty of experience to the Tar Heels staff. He was a head coach at Iowa State from 2006-07 and at Auburn from 2009-12, where he took the Cam Newton-led Tigers to a national title in 2010.

It also marks a return to North Carolina for Chizik. He was the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator in 2015-16 before resigning in February 2017. Chizik was also reportedly a target for the USFL.

Charlton Warren leaves Indiana for North Carolina

Warren served as Indiana’s defensive coordinator this past year after two years as Georgia’s defensive backs coach.

An Air Force veteran, he previously worked at UNC from 2015-16 as defensive backs coach. Warren also worked at Florida, Tennessee, Nebraska and the Air Force Academy — his alma mater.

“We’re also thrilled to welcome Charlton and his three children, Jayree, Teya, and Chase, back to the Carolina football family,” Brown said in a statement. “Charlton has a wealth of experience at a number of the top programs around the country, has recruited at a high level, and with his previous experience in Chapel Hill and working with Gene, I expect him to be a great fit with our staff.

“His work in the secondary has been very impressive throughout his career, and I’m excited to see what he can do with the talented players we have both on the current roster and coming in.”