Report: UNC parting ways with top coordinator

After a disappointing 6-7 season, North Carolina is reportedly parting ways with defensive coordinator Jay Bateman. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and Fox was the first to report the news on Friday morning.

Bateman, who also more specifically coached safeties for head coach Mack Brown, has been in Chapel Hill since December 2018.

UNC’s defense struggled immensely this season, allowing 31.6 points per game and rankings 94th nationally in total defense. They gave up more than 35 points in six games.

Bateman’s second year, 2019, was the Tar Heels’ best under his expertise. They notched 36 sacks, which was their highest number since 2000 and tied for fifth in the nation. They ranked in the top 35 in many of the most important defensive categories, including scoring and total defense. Further, he helped convert quarterback Chazz Surratt into an All-American linebacker, and Surratt was ultimately drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Prior to the UNC stint, he was the defensive coordinator at Army from 2014-2018. The Black Knights ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense twice under his guidance. As a result of the turnaround he engineered, in 2016, Bateman was nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s best assistant coach.

Bateman has also coached at Ball State and a collection of FCS and Division II schools, including a head coaching job at D-II Siena College from 2000-2003. He is a native of Richmond, Va.

Way-too-early look at 2022

The Tar Heels will need to get their defense in order for 2022, as they have some very solid offensive teams on the schedule. In addition to annual Coastal Division opponents Pittsburgh, UVA and Miami, UNC plays Appalachian State, Notre Dame and Wake Forest. The Mountaineers had the second-best scoring offense in the Sun Belt, and Notre Dame and Wake Forest both averaged in excess of 35 points per game on the offensive side of the ball this year.

Additionally, while Georgia Tech did not fall under the “top offenses in the ACC category” this year, they put up 45 points on the Tar Heels in a 45-22 upset win. As a Coastal Division opponent, they are on the 2022 schedule as well.

UNC’s other two non-conference games are Florida A&M and Georgia State, and the Panthers had a solid year in the Sun Belt as well. The Florida A&M game is their opener, and it will take place on Aug. 27 as part of Week 0.