North Carolina parted ways with Gene Chizik this week as defensive coordinator, and according to multiple reports, Mack Brown has focused on a former ACC head coach to replace Chizik.

Former Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins has emerged as a candidate to watch, according to Matt Zenitz and FootballScoop. Brown is trying to improve a North Carolina defense which allowed 5.62 yards per play this season, which was 10th in the ACC.

Georgia Tech was 10-28 under Collins, from 2019 to part of the 2022 season, and failed to win more than 3 games in a single season. He was 15-10 at Temple as head coach from 2017-18.

Collins has been in coaching since 1993. He was on Alabama’s staff in 2007 as director of player personnel. From 2011-to-2014 he was on Mississippi State’s staff as co-defensive coordinator and later sole DC. Collins was Florida’s defensive coordinator for the 2015 and ’16 seasons.

Collins was also defensive coordinator at Florida International in 2010, and at Western Carolina from 2002-05.