Some UNC stuff...Spring practice opens, previewed...some big name hires


North Carolina has hired former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens as its run-game coordinator and tight ends coach.

The school announced the hiring Tuesday, with Kitchens named to replace John Lilly after Lilly joined Frank Reich’s staff with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

Kitchens spent 16 seasons in the NFL ranks, leading the Browns to a 6-10 record as head coach in 2019. He also worked as an offensive coordinator with the Browns and took over as play-caller for the New York Giants in 2021.

Kitchens also spent 11 years on the staff of the Arizona Cardinals, including for their Super Bowl appearance in the 2008 season. He has had college coaching stints at North Texas and Mississippi and spent last year as a senior analyst at South Carolina.
 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Clyde Christensen, who developed bonds with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning across his long run as an NFL assistant coach, is joining Mack Brown at North Carolina in an analyst role, the UNC head coach confirmed on Wednesday.

Christensen, the former UNC quarterback, spent 28 years in the NFL before retiring in January. He worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins in a number of jobs, mainly as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He has been on the staffs of two Super Bowl winners, with Brady’s Buccaneers and Manning’s Colts.

"He'll come in as a volunteer analyst for us," Mack Brown said. "He'll be here (this) Saturday and help us recruit and then he will be out there on the field helping us (at practice) on Sunday. You look at his background. He had 16 years coaching in college -- he was an offensive coordinator at East Carolina and co-coordinator at Clemson -- 26 years coaching in the NFL, he's a North Carolina graduate. He coached quarterbacks for Tampa Bay, was an offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay, but he's also been the offensive coordinator for the Colts. He was quarterback coach for the Indianapolis Colts. He was offensive coordinator for the Dolphins, and quarterback coach for Tampa Bay. So he has coached quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston and Tom Brady. And he's won two Super Bowls."

After earning All-America honors at Fresno City Junior College, Christensen played in a reserve QB role at UNC during the 1977 and 1978 seasons, memorably relieving starter Matt Kupec versus Clemson, leading the Tar Heels to a tie that enabled their ACC championship that season. Twenty-two years later, Christensen's name was speculated as a candidate for the UNC head coaching position prior to the program hiring John Bunting.

The Tar Heels are expected to have a prolific offense once again this coming season, led by the return of quarterback Drake Maye -- a top NFL draft prospect -- who as a redshirt freshman in 2022 earned ACC Player of the Year honors as well as national acclaim for completing 342-of-517 passes (66.2%) for 4,321 yards and 38 TDs, while rushing for 698 yards and seven TDs. With Maye under center, UNC started 9-1 and finished 9-5 with a loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

there will be a lot of new faces on that side of the ball in 2023 -- offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, offensive line coach Randy Clements, and tight end coach Freddie Kitchens were offseason additions.

"When you can take that kind of experience (from Christensen) along with Freddie Kitchens into your offensive meeting room, it gives you some of the best coaches in the country and a lot of expertise moving forward," Brown said. "So that's going to be fun watching those guys compete. Clyde and Freddie, but especially Clyde, will help us figure out the quarterback room. We've got to find out who's next -- who's second and who's third? -- because Drake's a tremendous player. And this will help Drake with a lot of expertise around him, a lot of people watching him with what he does every day.

"But it's one of the strongest offensive rooms in the country. You've got guys that have won Super Bowls, guys that have won national championships, so it really adds to it."
 




Top Bottom