North Carolina names former championship coach Chizik defensive coordinator

Published Jan. 19, 2015 11:52 a.m. ET

foxsports

National championship-winning head coach Gene Chizik has been named as defensive coordinator for North Carolina.

Chizik has been part of national championship teams at both Auburn and Texas.

Chizik, 53, served as head coach at Auburn from 2009-12 and led the Tigers to three bowl victories, including the 2011 BCS title following an undefeated 2010 season. He was previously defensive coordinator at Texas when the Longhorns won the 2005 national championship.

As a defensive coordinator at Auburn (2002-04), he earned the 2004 Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country when Auburn went 13-0, won the Southeastern Conference and finished No. 2 in both national polls.

Since parting with Auburn in 2012, Chizik has worked as an analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network.

"Throughout the hiring process, I worked closely with athletic director Bubba Cunningham to invest in someone who believes in the mission of the University and shares our vision of providing an outstanding experience to the student-athletes," coach Larry Fedora said. "Gene Chizik believes in competing at the highest level both on and off the field and is another highly regarded leader for our program."

Chizik was head coach at Iowa State from 2007-08. He also coached previously at Clemson, Middle Tennessee State and Central Florida.