Sam Howell rewrote the North Carolina school record book during his 3 seasons as the Tar Heels quarterback.

Then Drake Maye came along and did a little editing of his own.

And yet for all their individual accomplishments, they only combined to deliver a single ACC Coastal title, an Orange Bowl bid and 5 seasons of unfulfilled potential.

It’s not as if Mack Brown squandered the 2 best quarterbacks in program history. At the same time, he wasn’t able to take full advantage of their NFL-caliber talents because of a defense that had trouble stopping the other team.

Especially as the season wore on.

The Tar Heels ranked dead last in the ACC in scoring (30.8 ppg), total defense (436.5 ypg) and sacks (17) in  2022. They were only slightly better last season, allowing 27.3 points and 404.4 yards per game with 28 sacks — 9 of which came in the opening game against South Carolina.

In each of those 2 seasons, they’ve squandered strong starts by faltering to the finish.

Brown’s explanation for the problem is a simple one.

“Defense is hard,” he said during a media availability earlier this week.

No argument there.

Today’s rules and the way they’re enforced are certainly skewed toward offense and lend themselves to entertaining high-scoring games. But as Michigan, Florida State and other top teams have shown, it’s still possible to play championship-caliber defense with the right players and the right scheme.

Finding that combination has been an elusive challenge for Brown since his return to Chapel Hill in 2019.

His 1st defensive coordinator Jay Bateman wasn’t the answer. Neither was his long-time friend and renowned defensive guru Gene Chizik, with whom he won a national championship when they were together at Texas.

Brown and Chizik parted ways after the Tar Heels’ Duke’s Mayo Bowl loss to West Virginia last month.
And now it’s Geoff Collins’ turn to try and construct a defense capable of lifting UNC beyond its elusive 8-9 win plateau.

Brown introduced the former Georgia Tech coach as his new coordinator on Monday. It didn’t take long for him to be asked the only question that really needs to be answered.

What is it about Collins that convinces you he can succeed where Batemen and Chizik both failed?

Brown didn’t go into specifics, instead highlighting his new assistant’s experience, preparation and passion for the job.

Suffice it to say that a coordinator is only as good as the players with which he has to work. So there’s work to do on the transfer portal between now and next fall.

Regardless of who is available, Collins’ greatest asset is that his approach to defensive football is the 180-degree opposite of his predecessor.

Where Chizik favored a more conservative philosophy designed to limit big plays and force opponents into sustaining extended drives – a bend-but-don’t-break technique, if you will – Collins is much more aggressive in his play calling.

Win 1st down. Make tackles in the backfield. Create 3rd-and-long situations. Take the ball away. Force the offense to react to you, instead of the other way around.

Collins’ scheme is so aggressive that he’s earned the nickname the “Minister of Mayhem.”

“We’re going to create chaos without being chaotic,” he said. “Let them get their feet set, let them get the call. Let them play fast and aggressive and have confidence in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I think that all works together.”

Collins is coming off an unsuccessful tenure as the head coach at Georgia Tech, where his teams won only 3 games in each of his 3 full seasons before being replaced by Brent Key 4 games a year ago.

But don’t judge his qualifications by that experience.

Not all successful coordinators are cut out to run teams of their own. That appears to be the case with Collins.

He cut his coaching teeth as a member of Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2007 before going on to coordinate top-10 defenses at Mississippi State and Florida, Among other places. He’s also a respected recruiter who has had several players go on to stardom in the NFL.

Collins blew Brown and his staff away with his preparation for his interview for the UNC job. He watched every one of the team’s games last season, broke down the defense, knew every player by name and offered a detailed critique on both the positives and negatives.

“In the 1st 10 minutes,” Brown said. “Geoff had everyone eating out of his hands.”

He apparently got the same reaction from the players with whom he met upon his arrival to Chapel Hill.
Now it’s time to get down to work.

Can Collins succeed where other, equally respected coordinators have failed?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But after 5 seasons of a defense dragging the team down like an anchor on a racing boat, any change is worth a try.

Especially in the absence of a generational quarterback capable of doing another rewrite of the school record book.