Back in 2019 when UNC brought back Mack Brown, just about everyone thought that the secondary was going to end up being the strongest part of the defense. New co-defensive coordinator Jay Bateman made his bones in giving power to his secondary, and UNC legend Dre Bly was going to take his NFL experience to coach up all the high-level recruits he could bring in.
It didn’t work out that way.
Things started to fall apart in 2021, and continued in 2022. If anything, it got worse: the Tar Heels only picked up a total of nine interceptions the entire season, had 49 pass breakups, and opponents averaged 272 yards a game passing.