University of North Carolina Athletics
Chizik Named Broyles Award Finalist
November 30, 2015 | Football
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. - North Carolina first-year defensive coordinator Gene Chizik has been named one of five finalists for the 2015 Broyles Award, which goes to the nation's best assistant coach.
The Broyles Award selection committee has chosen the following five finalists:
- Kirby Smart, Alabama, Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
- Kendal Briles, Baylor, Offensive Coordinator
- Brent Venables, Clemson, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
- Gene Chizik, North Carolina, Defensive Coordinator
- Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Chizik has overseen a complete transformation of the Tar Heels' defensive unit. UNC is the nation's most improved defensive team in the country, allowing 18.2 points fewer in 2015 than last season. Carolina is ranked 19th in the nation in scoring defense (19.5 ppg) and are 11th in pass efficiency defense.
More information:
The 2015 Broyles Award winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 8th at 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock, AR. The Broyles Award is presented by The Rotary Club of Little Rock and Delta Dental.
The winner of the 2014 Broyles Award was Tom Herman, Ohio State. The Broyles Award honors the top assistant college football coach in America and was established in 1996 to honor legendary Arkansas Head Coach Frank Broyles. Coach Broyles had a track record of producing some of the most successful assistant coaches in college football history.
The Broyles Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 699 years of tradition-selection excellence.
For more information, visit www.BroylesAward.com or search for Broyles Award on Facebook and Twitter. Use #BroylesAward to follow along with the event.
About the Broyles Award:
There are few coaches whose efforts have forever impacted the game of college football. Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Eddie Robinson have set the standard for victories and championships on the gridiron. However when it comes to selecting, developing and producing great assistant coaches, the legacy of Frank Broyles stands alone. Former Broyles assistant coaches who have become head coaches have gone on to coach in 20 percent of all Super Bowls and win almost 15 percent of all Super Bowl titles plus five national collegiate championships, more than 40 conference titles and more than 2,000 games. More than 25 Broyles assistants went on to become head coaches at the college or professional level, including: Joe Gibbs, Hayden Fry, Raymond Berry, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill and Barry Switzer.
In 1996, the Broyles Award was established to recognize the dedicated, hard-working assistants like those who worked for Broyles, and to date, seventy plus finalists and fifteen winners have been honored. Like many of Broyles' assistants who went on to do great things, numerous coaches recognized by the Broyles Award have since remained in the spotlight, with 40 percent of finalists and winners going on to become head coaches.
The finalists are chosen by an 11 person panel that may be the most prestigious of any awards panel, representing 11 national championships, more than 2,000 victories, over 70 conference titles, 178 bowl game appearances and 13 national head coach of the year honors. Broyles Award Panelists: Former Arkansas Athletic Director and Coach Frank Broyles, former Georgia Coach Vince Dooley, former Syracuse Coach Dick MacPherson, former Baylor Coach Grant Teaff, former Brigham Young Coach LaVell Edwards, former Iowa Coach Hayden Fry, former Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer, former Tennessee and Pittsburgh Coach Johnny Majors, former Florida State University Coach Bobby Bowden, former Texas Longhorn Coach Mack Brown, and former Tennessee Volunteer Coach Phillip Fulmer.
