North Texas to add Derrick LeBlanc as defensive line coach
Pearl River Community College defensive coordinator Derrick LeBlanc will be the new defensive line coach for North Texas coach Seth Littrell, according to sources.
A respected Louisiana recruiter, LeBlanc replaces former Mean Green defensive line coach Kevin Patrick, who left earlier this month for the same position at Texas Tech. LeBlanc was promoted to his position as Pearl River's defensive coordinator last month after spending this past season as the program's defensive line coach.
Before that, LeBlanc was Southern Miss's defensive line coach for two seasons and also held the same position at Wyoming in 2012. He was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at LSU from ’08–11.
LeBlanc also coached the defensive line at Missouri State from 2006–07, Arkansas Tech in ’05 and Henderson State from ’01–04. He was a graduate assistant at LSU in ’00.
He got his start in coaching in 1997 at Breaux Bridge (La.) High, where he oversaw the offensive and defensive lines for three seasons. That was after he played both at Northwestern State from ’92–96.
Littrell became North Texas's coach last month and is regarded as one of college football’s brightest young offensive minds.
This past season was Littrell's second as assistant head coach for offense and tight ends coach at North Carolina. Under him, the Tar Heels had one of the nation's most prolific offenses with their fast-paced spread attack.
The 37-year-old Littrell replaces former North Texas coach Dan McCarney who was fired in October amidst a 0–5 start. McCarney went 22–32 in his five seasons with the Mean Green.
North Texas finished with a 1–11 record this season, including a 1–7 mark in Conference USA, and was among the nation’s worst teams offensively. The Mean Green ranked 123rd in scoring offense (15.2 points per game) and 117th in total offense (320.1 yards per game).
