Mack Brown breaks down what has made Chip Lindsey a great fit for North Carolina's staff
North Carolina has a new offensive coordinator for 2023 in Chip Lindsey, who will be coaching one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country this season in Drake Maye.
Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown loves what Lindsey has brough to the UNC program so far and believes that he is a great fit in Chapel Hill.
“He grew up in this offense. He was a tremendous high school coach in this offense. But he runs the ball better than we’ve run it the last two years,” Brown said. “And then it all fell together for me, because he and Randy Clements have been very close friends. And they’ve wanted to work together because they meet all the time and they’re on the same page with the running game. So we will have a more aggressive and better running game, and that’s what I wanted.”
Clements is the offensive line coach for North Carolina and someone Lindsey knows well. The Tar Heels also brought in some other new staff members this offseason, and Brown expects the moves to pay off in a big way.
One of the new staff members is tight ends coach and run game coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who is a former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator. Another addition is volunteer analyst Clyde Christensen, who has an impressive resume that includes coaching Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“I thought it was so powerful to have Freddie Kitchens come in here, who has coached No. 1 draft choice quarterbacks. Clyde Christensen has been a dream. He’s coached the best quarterbacks to every play the game. And he’s been an offensive coordinator in college and in the NFL. And he’s won two Super Bowls. Freddie Kitchens has coached a quarterback in the Super Bowl,” Brown said.
“And then you start looking at what Chip’s accomplished, and he’s averaged 33 points a game when he was calling plays as an offensive coordinator. … And the other thing that happens with Chip that’s so good, he embraces Freddie being here. He embraces Clyde Christensen being in there and asking questions and talking. A lot of people aren’t confident enough to want Clyde Christensen sitting in your meeting because of all he’s accomplished. And Chip embraces it. He brings it on.”
All of the staff additions should help the Tar Heels and Maye, who is expected to be a top five pick in next year’s NFL draft.
The future is also bright for UNC as the new staff members are helping North Carolina land its quarterback of the future.
“To sit there and have the ability to have those guys evaluating quarterbacks, nobody else has got a room like that evaluating quarterbacks,” Brown said. “And I’ve had some pretty good ones.”