Former Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins will be UNC football’s next defensive coordinator, the Tar Heels announced Friday afternoon.

“Geoff is a brilliant defensive mind, who has been successful at a number of different locations as both a head coach and a coordinator," UNC head coach Mack Brown said in a school-issued statement.

"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. We were blown away when we interviewed Geoff. He was unbelievably prepared.

"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, who is set to replace Gene Chizik as the leader of UNC’s defense, sat out the 2023 season after being fired in 2022 at Georgia Tech. During his time as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Collins was 10-28.

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“My family and I want to thank Coach Brown and the staff at UNC for presenting us with this opportunity. 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," Collins said.

“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.”

Collins, 52, also had experience as a head coach at Temple, where he finished with a 15-10 record. The Atlanta native has six years of head coaching experience and 11 years as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level.

Geoff Collins coached SEC defenses at Florida, Mississippi State

Collins spent six years as an assistant coach in the SEC, making his mark as a defensive coordinator.

After a season as the director of player personnel at Alabama in 2007, he spent time in Florida at FIU and UCF before making the move to Mississippi State (2011-14). He also spent two seasons at Florida before taking his first head coaching job at Temple.

Collins was nominated for the Broyles Award, given to college football’s top assistant coach, at FIU, Mississippi State and Florida.

How Geoff Collins can help UNC football’s defense 

During his time as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator, Collins helped the Bulldogs field a top-five defense. In 2014, Mississippi State led the SEC in sacks on its way to a 10-win season.

He had a top-25 defense in two seasons with the Bulldogs and fielded a pair of top-10 defenses in his two seasons at Florida.

As a whole, UNC has been among the worst defensive teams in the ACC in the last two seasons. The Tar Heels were 73rd in scoring defense (27.1 points per game) and 12th among 14 ACC teams in yards per game (405.4). UNC was 45th nationally with 27 sacks in 12 games this season.

UNC, which allowed an average of more than 400 yards per game in back-to-back seasons, was 100th in passing defense (242.3 ypg) and 86th nationally in rushing defense (163.1 ypg).

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Ex-Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins to lead UNC football defense