As 2022 spring practice begins in earnest, more changes are coming to the UNC football coaching staff. Following the departure of former offensive line coach Stacy Searels to Georgia, the Tar Heels are hiring Jack Bicknell, Jr. to the same position.

“Jack Bicknell is one of the top offensive line coaches in the country and has been for a long time,” said head coach Mack Brown. “He’s widely considered one of the best teachers in the game, and his ability to shape and mold offensive lineman is one of the main reasons we targeted him.”

Searels served as offensive line coach at Carolina from January 2019 until this past season, having been hired by Brown upon the head coach’s return to Chapel Hill. Searels’ unit struggled to protect quarterback Sam Howell in 2021, allowing a league-worst 49 sacks. He will serve in the same role with the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Bicknell spent 2021 as the offensive line coach at Louisville, and before that worked at Auburn and Ole Miss. With the Rebels, Bicknell worked on the same staff as UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo, guiding an explosive offense which averaged more than 320 passing yards per game. Bicknell also served stints with four NFL franchises and won a Super Bowl title with the New York Giants in 2012.

“I’d like to thank Coach Brown and the administration for giving us this opportunity,” Bicknell said. “My family and I are truly honored to join a coaching staff full of great coaches, great mentors, and great men. The Tar Heels are seen as a program on the rise around the country and I’m looking forward to doing my part to keep that going.”

Other than an eight-year tenure as head coach at Louisiana Tech, Bicknell has spent nearly his entire career coaching offensive linemen. He will take over a UNC unit which faces significant roster turnover in the 2022 season and welcomes in two transfers.

 

Featured image via Ole Miss Athletics

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