Michigan Football: Getting to know new OC Chip Lindsey, history, recruiting wins

Trent Knoop | 6 Hours Ago

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

While Michigan Football hasn't made it official, all signs point to the Wolverines hiring North Carolina's offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, to fill the position in Ann Arbor. After Michigan had one of the worst offenses in college football in 2024, Sherrone Moore moved on from Kirk Campbell as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

So what exactly is Michigan getting with Lindsey? Let's take a look.

Coaching career

Chip Lindsey has most recently been at North Carolina but he has vast experience as a play-caller and Lindsey even has head coaching experience. Lindsey has coached at both the high school level and college. His most recent head coaching job was at Troy University.

Here's where Lindsey has coached:

2023-2024 North Carolina Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

2022 UCF Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

2019-2021 Troy Head Coach

2017-18 Auburn Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

2016 Arizona St. Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

2014-15 Southern Miss Offensive Coordinator

2013 Auburn Offensive Analyst

2011-12 Spain Park (Ala.) HS Head Coach

2010 Troy Quarterbacks

2008-09 Lassiter (Ga.) HS Head Coach

2007 Hoover (Ala.) HS Offensive Coordinator

2005-06 Colbert Heights (Ala.) HS Head Coach

2000-04 Deshler (Ala.) HS Assistant Coach

1999 Sparkman (Ala.) HS Assistant Coach

1997-98 Springville (Ark.) HS Assistant Coach

Where his offenses have ranked

Chip Lindsey has coached some explosive offenses, but he has a good mesh of passing and rushing. In recent years, he coached Drake Maye at North Carolina, but the Tar Heels also had an explosive rushing attack. One thing that Sherrone Moore wanted was a good balance and that appears to be what Lindsey is about. Here's where his offenses have ranked through the past five years.

2024 North Carolina (OC)

Scoring offense: 32.3 PPG (35th in the nation)
Total offense: 423.4 YPG (37th)
Passing offense: 233.9 YPG (59th)
Rushing offense: 189.5 YPG (31st)

2023 North Carolina (OC)

Scoring offense: 34.5 PPG (20th in the nation)
Total offense: 491.2 YPG (7th)
Passing offense: 299.2 YPG (14th)
Rushing offense: 192 YPG (20th)

2022 UCF (OC)

Scoring offense: 32.9 PPG (31st in the nation)
Total offense: 469.6 YPG (16th)
Passing offense: 241.2 YPG (57th)
Rushing offense: 228.3 YPG (9th)

2021 Troy (HC)

Scoring offense: 22.8 PPG (102nd in the nation)
Total offense: 336.4 YPG (111th)
Passing offense: 237.5 YPG (62nd)
Rushing offense: 98.9 YPG (124th)

2020 Troy (HC)

Scoring offense: 26 PPG (83rd in the nation)
Total offense: 392.8 YPG (65th)
Passing offense: 290.2 YPG (21st)
Rushing offense: 102.6 YPG (117th)

Top recruiting wins

Looking at 247Sports, Chip Lindsey hasn't been a fantastic recruiter, but his wins have been massive. It appears Lindsey was much more into recruiting during his Auburn tenure compared to his most recent North Carolina job. Here are Lindsey's top wins as a primary recruiter

5-star QB Bo Nix (Auburn 2019 class)
4-star ATH Joey Gatewood (Auburn 2018 class)
4-star QB Bryce Baker (North Carolina 2025 class)
4-star WR Ja'Varrius Johnson (Auburn 2019 class)
4-star OL Kamaar Bell (Aubrun 2019 class)

Final thoughts

Sherrone Moore wanted balance and someone who could help work with a young quarterback, like Bryce Underwood. Chip Lindsey does fit that billing. He coached Drake Maye at UNC -- who became a first-round pick -- , he coached both John Rhys Plumlee and Mikey Keene at UCF, and Jarrett Stidham at Auburn. He's been around talented quarterback rooms and has proven results.

But it's not just quarterbacks. Lindsey has used the ground game, something Michigan will want to continue to do. This past season, UNC had the No. 2 running back in all of college football, Omarion Hampton, who rushed for 1,660 yards. Hampton was fifth overall in 2023 when he rushed for 1,504 yards. And he also worked with Kerryon Johnson at Auburn when he was the No. 20 rusher in 2017.

While the name 'Chip Lindsey' might not have been the biggest name, he has a proven track record with plenty of experience. It's hard to believe Michigan won't see a big improvement from a passing standpoint and should still continue to have production on the ground moving forward under Lindsey.

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