This offseason has been one with a lot of turnover on the Tar Heel staff. One of the biggest areas of change has been the experience that the staff has. A couple of weeks ago, Mack Brown announced that he was adding NFL veteran coach Clyde Christensen to the coach as an offensive volunteer and that was followed with similar additions to the defensive and special teams staff last week. On Tuesday, the football program made those hires and three others official.
Clyde Christensen
Christensen was brought in as a volunteer offensive analyst back on March 1st and brings a ton of experience with him. The former Tar Heel quarterback from the late 70s spent the last 44 years in the coaching profession, including the last 26 on NFL sideline. He has spent the majority of that time working with quarterbacks, including the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. He will be a valuable asset for this offensive staff with his experience as a play caller at both levels and could help Drake Maye to take the next step.
Ted Monachino
Monachino, like Christensen, will bring plenty of experience from the top level of the sport in his new role with the Tar Heels. The team’s new senior defensive analyst spent 16 years at the professional level coaching throughout the front seven. Amongst his biggest successes is his time in Baltimore where he won a Super Bowl and helped Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil to All-Pro seasons under his tutelage. He was also an integral part of Suggs’ college success at Arizona State, where he set the single-season record for sacks, one that still stands to this day. This a huge addition that should help to bring new ideas of how to get pressure on the opposing quarterback, something this team desperately needs.
Ty Greenwood
While Monachino will be a big help for the team up front, Greenwood will provide another perspective in the defensive backfield. He spent last year with Elon as their defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach, roles he also held prior to that for three years at NC Central. He was also the recruiting coordinator for the Eagles, so he is familiar with the recruiting landscape in the state. His 15 years of experience coaching defensive backs will be a big help for team that had one of the worst pass defenses in program history a year ago.
Jamael Lett
Lett left his special teams coordinator role to take on the special teams analyst role for this team this upcoming season. His special teams unit at South Alabama this past season featured one of the country's most accurate kickers and electric punt returners. He will hope to help the Tar Heels improve in those areas after the special teams unit as a whole took a huge jump last year. Brown hopes this is the move that can help make this one of the best units in the country, not just the ACC.
Jay Clements
The son of offensive line coach Randy Clements will follow his father to Chapel Hill as an offensive graduate assistant. He held down the same role at North Texas a year ago, after serving as a coach for Ponder High School in Ponder, TX.
Cam Spence
Spence will join the staff as a defensive graduate assistant after stints at some big time programs in a similar role. He has worked on the Maryland (2019-20), Miami (2021) and Ohio State (2022) staffs following his medical retirement from Maryland after the 2018 season. Spence also independently trained guys like Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw right after he medically retired before he headed back to College Park.