Heel Tough Blog: Who Should Tar Heels Target at OC?

On Friday, the Tar Heels moved on from offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens following one of the most disappointing offensive seasons in recent memory for the Tar Heels. They must now find a replacement that can vastly improve this side of the football to be able to meet the expectations that will be on the table for the team in Year 2 under Bill Belichick. Here’s a look at some candidates that the Tar Heels should consider for the vacancy.

Chip Kelly

Tom Hauck- Getty Images

This is the home run option for the team, but it’s going to take a lot to get it done. Kelly was just fired from his job with the Las Vegas Raiders continuing his history of failures at the NFL. This likely means that he will be making his return to the college level and the Tar Heels could be the beneficiaries of that. He is just a year removed from coaching an offense that won a national championship at Ohio State and elevating Will Howard to play at the highest level of his career. Prior to his time in Columbus, Kelly put together some really strong offenses at UCLA in his head coaching tenure there and his time at Oregon is incredibly well known, as well. This would be a home run hire for the Tar Heels and should be the team’s first call to gauge his interest.

Corey Dennis

Sports Illustrated

If you can’t get Kelly, the preference would be to go with a young up and comer that can bring some new ideas to the table and that fits Dennis to a tee. He is coming off of a very successful regular season with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels where the offense averaged 35.9 points and 459.1 yards per game in what is his first year as an offensive coordinator. Prior to his time in Las Vegas, he spent nine years as a member of the Ohio State staff, including a three year stint as the quarterbacks coach for the team from 2020-23. Even though he doesn’t have a ton of experience, this feels like a guy with plenty of potential and someone that will bring a more modern offense to the table for the team which is sorely needed.

Andy Kotelnicki

CBS Sports

This seems like the biggest longshot on the list, but could be a very solid hire after he wasn’t chosen by James Franklin as the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech. While this season was not nearly as successful as last year was for the team, a lot of that can be attributed to the injury that Drew Allar suffered six games into the season. Even without Allar, the Nittany Lions still finished the season averaging 31.8 points and 359.1 yards per game, a far cry from where the Tar Heels ranked with a mostly healthy offense. The year prior and his time at Kansas is really what intrigues you about him, as does the offensive system that he ran at Penn State, which would match up well with what Belichick seems to want. This should be a legitimate candidate for this job if he is even remotely interested.

Ben McDaniels

Wolverines Wire

While McDaniels is the brother of former Belichick disciple Josh McDaniels, he does not have the direct ties to this staff that others who are seen as options for the team do and his track record is legitimate. He is in the midst of his fourth season with the Houston Texans as the team’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator and he has overseen some nice success in that area, especially over the last three years under the direction of quarterback CJ Stroud. He shouldn’t be the first call, but this is the one candidate with any sort of connection to the staff that should be considered.

Matt Wells

Kansas State Athletics

Wells is another offensive coordinator who was not retained by a new staff and should be on the short list for the Tar Heels. Wells' offense this season at Kansas State wasn’t exactly dominant, but the numbers are still an upgrade over what the Tar Heels were dealing with this season. His best success came during his time as the head coach at Utah State, so it has been a little while since his offenses have been anything to get overly excited about, but the numbers are still solid enough to at least inquire about. His head coaching experience at the college level also could be a nice addition to this staff that simply needs more college minds in the room.