University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications
Five With Coach Paschall
March 7, 2018 | Football
By Jeff Greenberg, GoHeels.com
Head coach Larry Fedora announced the hiring of Luke Paschall to the Carolina football coaching staff in February. This is a welcomed return for Coach Paschall to Chapel Hill, after serving as a graduate assistant for Coach Fedora during the first two seasons of his tenure at North Carolina.
1. After four successful seasons at Arkansas State University, what drew you back to Chapel Hill to accept this position? – "First and foremost, my relationship and familiarity with Coach Fedora. It kind of goes back to when I was here before. When we were in the Belk Bowl, and I knew at that point that Coach Anderson had taken the job at Arkansas State, and I knew that was my last game with the team. We had an awesome special teams performance in that game. We had a punt return for a touchdown with Switz, and we had a kickoff return for a touchdown with T.J. Logan. After the game was over, Coach Fedora knew I was saying goodbye. But I pulled him in close and one of the last things I ever said to him before I left here was, "I would love to work with you again one day." And his exact words were, "That time is coming." I didn't think about how long that would take or how it would all happen. I moved to Jonesboro, put my head down and went to work for Coach Anderson. But that's one of the main reasons that I'm here today. Other than Blake Anderson and a few other guys in this profession, Coach Fedora is like a football dad to me. It was hard to leave Blake and leave Arkansas State, but it was easy to say yes because it was Coach Fedora. It's one of those bittersweet moments you experience in this profession where you're sad to leave one football family, but excited to join another one."
2. What are some differences between the Coach Paschall that was in Chapel Hill four years ago and the Coach Paschall that just walked back into the Kenan Football Center today? – "I'd like to think I'm wiser than I was then. Now I have experience with running my own position group and my own meeting room. I've run a special teams unit now where I had to put my own name next to everything we did and what we created. I think one thing you have to do in this profession is continually learn from those your surround yourself with at every stop. I feel like I learned a tremendous amount at Arkansas State from Coach Anderson and the guys on that staff. When you're able to work with guys like Trooper Taylor, Walt Bell and Glen Elarbee, it's your fault if you don't walk away from that experience a better coach. Those learning experiences allow you to walk away with more tools in your coaching toolbox. Another change for me was getting married and having a child enter our world. I think all of this experience, on and off the field, makes you a better coach along the way, and like I said before, a wiser coach."
3. What are some things in coaching that maybe you didn't know then that you're excited to bring to this program now? – "Offenses have really evolved over the last four to five years. I like to think that our time at Arkansas State showed our ability to bring some innovative concepts into football and maybe do some things that were ahead of their time. Now, others have caught up to that but we still worked to stay on the cusp of innovation, not just with the offense, but with our special teams as well. So I think I bring an innovative perspective into the mix. Our two programs run a lot of similar concepts, but I hope to add to the successful things they're already doing here at North Carolina. On special teams I pride myself on staying ahead of the curve and trying to push the envelope a little bit, which I think is one of the main reasons Coach Fedora hired me because he shares a similar philosophy there. I want to be aggressive and run fakes and surprise onside kicks; basically do things that run against the norms in college football. I like that style."
4. How do you envision your impact on the special teams units helping this program win? – "One thing is, let's remember what I referred to earlier. They've had a great culture here around the special teams and that starts with the head man down the hall here. Whether people know it or not, he's in every single meeting. He's in every single install meeting. He's coached those positions on the field and still works at that and wants to be a part of it. It means something important to him and there's a trickle-down effect to that with the rest of the players and the coaches in this program. It makes everybody take the special teams seriously and that's what I meant when I said he has created a great culture here around the special teams."
5. Now that you're here, what are you feeling inside about this opportunity for you and your family? – "I'm really happy in many ways. It's a step up in terms of conferences, which isn't a slight on the Sun Belt. The competition was fierce in that conference and I'm extremely proud of the championships we won there at Arkansas State. I really think their lining up to win another one this year too. But you can't ignore the fact that this is a Power 5 job. As a coach, you have to respect and appreciate that reality because it's extremely hard to get here, especially as a coordinator. Usually those spots are reserved for guys that have paid their dues for a long time. Now, I'm not saying I haven't paid my dues, having been a graduate assistant for six years. If being a GA for six years isn't paying your dues, I don't know what is. But I feel very fortunate to be here and I'm excited for the challenge. It's a new challenge and one I feel like I'm ready for and can't wait to get started with my guys. I'm ready to help us win a championship here."
Head coach Larry Fedora announced the hiring of Luke Paschall to the Carolina football coaching staff in February. This is a welcomed return for Coach Paschall to Chapel Hill, after serving as a graduate assistant for Coach Fedora during the first two seasons of his tenure at North Carolina.
1. After four successful seasons at Arkansas State University, what drew you back to Chapel Hill to accept this position? – "First and foremost, my relationship and familiarity with Coach Fedora. It kind of goes back to when I was here before. When we were in the Belk Bowl, and I knew at that point that Coach Anderson had taken the job at Arkansas State, and I knew that was my last game with the team. We had an awesome special teams performance in that game. We had a punt return for a touchdown with Switz, and we had a kickoff return for a touchdown with T.J. Logan. After the game was over, Coach Fedora knew I was saying goodbye. But I pulled him in close and one of the last things I ever said to him before I left here was, "I would love to work with you again one day." And his exact words were, "That time is coming." I didn't think about how long that would take or how it would all happen. I moved to Jonesboro, put my head down and went to work for Coach Anderson. But that's one of the main reasons that I'm here today. Other than Blake Anderson and a few other guys in this profession, Coach Fedora is like a football dad to me. It was hard to leave Blake and leave Arkansas State, but it was easy to say yes because it was Coach Fedora. It's one of those bittersweet moments you experience in this profession where you're sad to leave one football family, but excited to join another one."
2. What are some differences between the Coach Paschall that was in Chapel Hill four years ago and the Coach Paschall that just walked back into the Kenan Football Center today? – "I'd like to think I'm wiser than I was then. Now I have experience with running my own position group and my own meeting room. I've run a special teams unit now where I had to put my own name next to everything we did and what we created. I think one thing you have to do in this profession is continually learn from those your surround yourself with at every stop. I feel like I learned a tremendous amount at Arkansas State from Coach Anderson and the guys on that staff. When you're able to work with guys like Trooper Taylor, Walt Bell and Glen Elarbee, it's your fault if you don't walk away from that experience a better coach. Those learning experiences allow you to walk away with more tools in your coaching toolbox. Another change for me was getting married and having a child enter our world. I think all of this experience, on and off the field, makes you a better coach along the way, and like I said before, a wiser coach."
3. What are some things in coaching that maybe you didn't know then that you're excited to bring to this program now? – "Offenses have really evolved over the last four to five years. I like to think that our time at Arkansas State showed our ability to bring some innovative concepts into football and maybe do some things that were ahead of their time. Now, others have caught up to that but we still worked to stay on the cusp of innovation, not just with the offense, but with our special teams as well. So I think I bring an innovative perspective into the mix. Our two programs run a lot of similar concepts, but I hope to add to the successful things they're already doing here at North Carolina. On special teams I pride myself on staying ahead of the curve and trying to push the envelope a little bit, which I think is one of the main reasons Coach Fedora hired me because he shares a similar philosophy there. I want to be aggressive and run fakes and surprise onside kicks; basically do things that run against the norms in college football. I like that style."
4. How do you envision your impact on the special teams units helping this program win? – "One thing is, let's remember what I referred to earlier. They've had a great culture here around the special teams and that starts with the head man down the hall here. Whether people know it or not, he's in every single meeting. He's in every single install meeting. He's coached those positions on the field and still works at that and wants to be a part of it. It means something important to him and there's a trickle-down effect to that with the rest of the players and the coaches in this program. It makes everybody take the special teams seriously and that's what I meant when I said he has created a great culture here around the special teams."
5. Now that you're here, what are you feeling inside about this opportunity for you and your family? – "I'm really happy in many ways. It's a step up in terms of conferences, which isn't a slight on the Sun Belt. The competition was fierce in that conference and I'm extremely proud of the championships we won there at Arkansas State. I really think their lining up to win another one this year too. But you can't ignore the fact that this is a Power 5 job. As a coach, you have to respect and appreciate that reality because it's extremely hard to get here, especially as a coordinator. Usually those spots are reserved for guys that have paid their dues for a long time. Now, I'm not saying I haven't paid my dues, having been a graduate assistant for six years. If being a GA for six years isn't paying your dues, I don't know what is. But I feel very fortunate to be here and I'm excited for the challenge. It's a new challenge and one I feel like I'm ready for and can't wait to get started with my guys. I'm ready to help us win a championship here."
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