There was plenty of information that came out of Mack Brown’s pre-spring practice presser on Monday, including the announcement of five new members to the 2024 coaching staff. Here is a look at the five analyst/quality control additions the team has made recently.
Jimmy Lindsey- Senior Defensive Analyst
Lindsey is the most recent addition and the biggest one, as well. He comes to Carolina after a year at LSU as the defensive line coach where he was on and off the field while dealing with cancer. Brown says he is doing well, though, and this will be a much less rigorous role for him. He brings plenty of experience to the table, with stops at South Carolina, Illinois, Western Kentucky and Georgia Southern as a defensive line coach amongst other jobs at the college level. He even spent some time working with four different NFL teams as part of the Minority Coaching Internship program. He will work with Ted Monachino to try to improve a defensive line group that has underwhelmed for the better part of Brown’s second stint. A new rule, which has been approved by the oversight committee and now just needs to be passed by the D1 Council, would allow Lindsey to be able to coach on the field, something that would be a huge boost for this unit this season.
Tyrone McKenzie- Defensive Analyst
McKenzie is another veteran coach that Brown is really hoping will get the opportunity to be on the field coaching this season. He comes to Carolina after six years at the NFL level, including five coaching linebackers. With experience coaching both inside and outside linebackers, he’ll be able to assist the Tar Heels in both of those areas. He would be another valuable asset for this defense to have if he could be on the sideline on game days.
Kyle Fuller- Offensive Graduate Assistant
Brown was excited about the addition of Fuller, who will help Randy Clements along the offensive line. He played for Clements at Baylor back in the mid-2010s and this will be his first step towards becoming a coach after his playing career came to an end earlier this offseason when he failed to make the UFL’s Michigan Panthers’ roster. He should be able to provide the newcomers to the Tar Heels offensive line room with some great insight on how to succeed in Clements’ system.
Sam Monachino- Offensive Quality Control Coach
Monachino, the son of defensive line coach Ted Monachino, will work with Chip Lindsey and the quarterbacks. He was a quarterback himself in his playing career at Wittenberg University before he would eventually become a graduate assistant for athletic communication. He spent last year as a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word and will now get a chance to coach alongside his dad on this Tar Heel staff.
Josh Lawrence- Special Teams Quality Control Coach
Lawrence returns to the Tar Heels after he spent a year as a graduate assistant at Ball State. Prior to last year, he spent time as a student coach while attending Carolina to get his Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. He’ll work with Larry Porter and Eric Mele to try to improve the issues that plagued this special teams unit a year ago.