Carl Torbush Carl William Torbush Jr . ( born October 11 , 1951 ) is a former college football head coach for both Louisiana Tech University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Early life . Born in East Spencer , North Carolina , Torbush relocated with his family to Knoxville , Tennessee at age 11 . He attended Austin - East High School in Knoxville , where he played in multiple sports . He received athletic scholarship offers from various Division I schools , but decided to walk - on at the University of Tennessee . After having no playing time as a freshman , he transferred to Carson - Newman University in Jefferson City . As a senior at Carson - Newman , he received first - team NAIA All - American honors in both baseball and football . Torbush graduated from Carson - Newman in 1974 . After college , Torbush coached briefly at Carter High School in Knoxville . In February 1975 , he signed with the Kansas City Royals . Following his one - season pro baseball career , he went to Baylor to begin his collegiate coaching career . He received his master ' s degree in physical education and health from Baylor in 1976 . Assistant coaching . He began his career as an assistant coach for the Baylor Bears , and later coached for the Southeastern Louisiana Lions , the Ole Miss Rebels , the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs , the Alabama Crimson Tide , Texas A & M Aggies , and the Carson - Newman Eagles . Torbush was part of some mild success at Ole Miss , where he was defensive coordinator from 1983 - 86 . The 1986 season saw Ole Miss compile an 8 – 3 – 1 record including a season - ending 20 – 17 win at the Independence Bowl over Texas Tech . The 1986 Rebel defense allowed opponents an average of less than 13 points per game and statistically ranked as the best defense in the Southeastern Conference . It was after that 1986 season that Torbush was hired away to become head coach at Louisiana Tech . Torbush stepped down as defensive coordinator at the University of Kansas on May 31 , 2011 , due to low grade prostate cancer . He was set to begin his second season in this role . In January 2012 , Torbush was introduced as the linebackers coach with Liberty University . Torbush retired from Liberty in February 2013 to end his coaching career . Head coaching . Louisiana Tech . Under Torbush , the team recorded a 3 – 8 season in 1987 highlighted by the defense and a win over Kansas . North Carolina . After only one year as head coach at Louisiana Tech , Torbush joined the UNC coaching staff in 1988 as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach . He was the only member of Mack Brown ' s original coaching staff to stay throughout Brown ' s 10 - year tenure . He recruited and coached many defensive standouts ; his 1995 , 1996 and 1997 units led the nation in total defense three years in a row and were often regarded as the best in the country . During his time at UNC , at least one of his linebackers went pro every year . Among his more notable players were Julius Peppers , Brian Simmons , Greg Ellis , and Dré Bly . After the 1997 season , Brown announced he was moving to the University of Texas . He left the team immediately , and Torbush was named to replace him . He coached the team in the 1998 Gator Bowl , capping off one of the Tar Heels ' best seasons ever . The Tar Heels finished with an 11 – 1 record , only the second 11 - win season in school history . They also finished sixth in the AP Poll and fourth in the coaches ' poll — their highest ranking in the major media polls in half a century . Despite the loss of most of the team ' s defensive stars of the last three years , the Tar Heels were expected to pick up right where they left off in 1998 . However , they never really recovered from an unexpected loss to Miami ( Ohio ) to open the 1998 season , in which they barely managed to qualify for the Las Vegas Bowl . The next year was an unmitigated disaster . The team was riddled with injuries , the most devastating one occurring when quarterback Ronald Curry tore his Achilles tendon . The Tar Heels were so thin at quarterback that they were forced to convert safety Antwon Black to quarterback , but he was lost after two games to mononucleosis . After starting the season 1 – 1 , the Tar Heels didn ' t win another game until beating North Carolina State in November . They finished 3 – 8 — UNC ' s first losing season since Brown ' s two consecutive 1 – 10 seasons in 1988 and 1989 . School officials actually planned to fire him after the season , but an outpouring of support from players and fans led to a change of heart . He was , however , forced to fire several members of his staff , including offensive coordinator Steve Marshall , who had been criticized for being too conservative in his play calling . The Tar Heels rebounded to finish 6 – 5 in 2000 , but it wasn ' t enough to save his job ; he was fired at the end of the season .