Carl Torbush, who rose to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the UNC football team in the late 1990s and served as the program’s head coach for three seasons, died Monday at age 72. East Tennessee State, where Torbush coached from 2015 to 2017, announced the news Monday morning.
“We lost a great man too soon,” said UNC head coach Mack Brown, who coached with Torbush during his first stint in Chapel Hill. “Coach Torbush touched so many lives in a positive way. He loved the game of football, especially defense. He was the architect of one of college football’s greatest defenses during the ‘96 and ‘97 seasons here at Carolina.”
Torbush came to Chapel Hill with Brown in 1988 to serve as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Torbush’s defenses in Chapel Hill were some of the best in school history, producing stars such as Dre’ Bly, Vonnie Holliday, Greg Ellis and Brian Simmons. In the 1996 and 1997 seasons, the Tar Heels never gave up more than 20 points in any single game. UNC posted a 21-3 record across those 24 games.
The last of those games, the 1997 Gator Bowl against Virginia Tech, was Torbush’s first as UNC head coach. Brown had accepted the head coaching job at Texas after the conclusion of the regular season, and Torbush was elevated to interim head coach for the game. Carolina won 42-3, and Torbush would eventually be named the full-time head coach for the 1998 season. He would stay in Chapel Hill until the end of the 2000 season.
“It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Carl Torbush,” the UNC program said in a statement on Monday. “Coach Torbush was a great man and a heck of a football coach. The Carolina Football Family sends its condolences to Coach’s loved ones during this difficult time.”
Featured image via Allsport
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