CHAPEL HILL – The University of North Carolina has named 35-year veteran Randy Clements its new offensive line coach, Head Coach Mack Brown announced on Wednesday. Clements is a renowned offensive line coach, who has spent 20 seasons mentoring the position group at the collegiate level.
Clements has a track record of being one of the top offensive line coaches in the country. From 2010-20, he was part of nine offenses that ranked among the top 13 in the country including three straight No. 1-ranked units from 2013-15 at Baylor. He comes to Carolina after spending the last two years at North Texas.
“We’re excited that Randy, his wife Polly, and their sons Jordan and Jayson are a part of the Carolina football family,” Brown said. “Randy is a tough, hard-nosed offensive line coach that has a tremendous amount of experience working in systems similar to our offense. He’s helped produce explosive offenses everywhere he’s been, while showing a knack for protecting the quarterback and limiting negative plays. Randy has shown an aptitude for identifying and developing offensive linemen and his attention to detail shows in his linemen’s ability to play with great technique. The teams he’s been a part of have consistently run the ball effectively, and everyone we talked to thought very highly of him as a coach and leader of young men. I believe Randy is the perfect fit for our offensive system moving forward and we can’t wait for him to get to Chapel Hill and get to work.”
During the 2022 season, Clements’ unit was one of the toughest in the country, while running a similar scheme to the UNC attack. The Mean Green offensive line paved the way for 201.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 24th nationally and second in Conference USA. The group ranked ninth nationally in both sacks and tackles-for-loss allowed, giving up just 11 sacks all season and four TFL per game. As a result, UNT averaged 33.9 points and 453.8 yards per game, which ranked 29th and 20th in the country, respectively.
In Clements’ first season with UNT, he worked as a volunteer coach with the offensive line. That unit helped the Mean Green rush for 233.5 yards per game, which ranked fifth nationally and first in the conference. The group also finished the year ranked 10th nationally in sacks allowed and 21st in tackles-for-loss allowed.
“Randy is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, period, and I’ve been around a lot of great ones,” said Clements’ head coach at North Texas Seth Littrell. “Everything he does is fundamentally sound, he’s great schematically, and the kids love playing for him. Randy is the complete package and everything you’re looking for in an offensive line coach.”
In 2020, Clements served as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at Ole Miss. While in Oxford, the Rebels paced the SEC in total offense (555.5 ypg) and broke the conference record for total offense in conference play (562.4 ypg). Clements’ unit paved the way for Ole Miss to score 39.2 points per game, which ranked 14th nationally, and run for 210.6 yards per game, which ranked 26th nationally and first in the SEC.
Clements spent one year as the offensive line coach at Florida St. in 2019 and one year at Houston in 2018. During the ’18 season in Houston, the Cougars averaged 43.9 points per game, ranking fifth in the nation, and 512.3 yards of total offense, the seventh-highest total in the FBS. Clements unit blocked for 217.1 rushing yards per game, which ranked 24th nationally.
“Randy is an outstanding coach and family man,” said Major Applewhite, who served as head coach while Clements was at Houston. “He coaches with passion and finds a way to connect and develop each player. His track record spoke for itself during the hiring process, but, at the time, I didn’t realize the complete package we were getting when we hired him. This is a great hire for Coach Brown and UNC and I’m looking forward to seeing him go to work for the Tar Heels.”
A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Clements served as offensive line coach at Baylor from 2008-16, holding the co-offensive coordinator title from 2008-11 and serving as run game coordinator from 2012-16. He produced the Big 12’s Offensive Lineman of the Year four straight seasons from 2012-15 and mentored eight NFL Draft picks, including No. 2 overall pick Jason Smith in 2009 and first-round pick Danny Watkins in 2011.
Clements helped elevate the Baylor program to historic heights, including back-to-back Big 12 Championships, behind a record-setting offense. While with the Bears, he coached linemen who earned a combined 13 All-Big 12 accolades and six All-America recognitions, including three unanimous selections.
The Bears led the nation in both total offense and scoring for three consecutive years from 2013-15, becoming only the second team in FBS history to accomplish that feat and the first since BYU from 1979-81.
Prior to Baylor, Clements spent five seasons at Houston from 2003-07. The UH offense was consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most prolific. The Cougars ranked No. 4 nationally in total offense (513.2) in 2007 and boasted the country’s No. 6 offense (446.1 ypg) in 2006 en route to a Conference USA title. The 2004 offense finished the year ranked 12th (458.3 ypg) in the FBS.
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