While North Carolina returned a big piece of their offense with quarterback Drake Maye, they also lost some production from Josh Downs and Antoine Green as well as a big piece in offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
The Tar Heels eventually hired Chip Lindsey as the new offensive coordinator and Maye had a big part in that.
According to an ESPN article, Mack Brown asked Maye to be involved in the decision during the search:
With Maye returning for a crucial redshirt sophomore season, Brown had to pick the right offensive coordinator. To do that, he asked Maye to be involved in the decision, a rarity within most player-coach relationships.
Said Brown: “I brought him in here and asked, ‘What do you want?’ He said, ‘I need somebody to teach me more. I need somebody to talk about quarterback mechanics, my throwing motion, time in the pocket and all those things.'”
This usually doesn’t happen in college football as it’s a rarity but with Maye coming back, having him get involved made a lot of sense. The fit needed to be there, especially for his final season at UNC. And if it works out, we could be looking back at Maye playing a big part in this even after he’s left the program.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.