CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has tabbed Greg Robinson and Tommy Thigpen to be his co-defensive coordinators, according to multiple sources. The story was first reported by FootballScoop.

Thigpen, who will be working in a coordinator position for the first time in his 21 years as an assistant coach, will be aided by a veteran defensive mind in the twilight of his career. Both men have long histories with UNC’s new head coach.

Robinson, 67, coached with Brown at Texas as co-defensive coordinator in 2004 and as a replacement defensive coordinator starting two games into the 2013 season after starting the season as a team analyst. In between those two stints, Robinson was the head coach at Syracuse (2005-08), posting a 5-37 record, and defensive coordinator at Michigan (2009-10).

At Syracuse, Robinson posted two seasons with double-digit losses. The 5-27 mark was the worst record for a non-interim coach in the history of the program. Robinson was 2–25 in Big East play. He was fired at the end of the 2008 season.

Robinson announced his retirement in 2015 after two seasons serving as the defensive coordinator at San Jose State.

Thigpen, who played under Brown at UNC and described his former coach as his mentor in an interview with Inside Carolina this summer, joined Larry Fedora’s coaching staff as the safeties coach in January. He had spent the previous five seasons as the linebackers coach at Tennessee, where he also served as defensive run game coordinator in 2016.

Thigpen, who was a three-time All-ACC linebacker at UNC (1989-92), got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant in Chapel Hill under Carl Torbush and returned to coach linebackers from 2005-08 under John Bunting and Butch Davis. He has credited Brown with putting him in touch with Gene Chizik in 2009 at Auburn, where he coached for four seasons and helped the Tigers win the 2010 national championship.

A former Parade All-American and Virginia Defensive Player of the Year at Potomac High School in Dumfries, Va., Thigpen has been praised for his recruiting abilities. He was named National Recruiter of the Year in 2013 and credited as one of the nation’s Top-25 recruiters in 2017 by Rivals.

“Coaching and recruiting go hand-in-hand – you can’t do one without the other,” Thigpen told IC in July. “There is no such thing as a great coach who doesn’t have any football players. That ain’t happening. The two go hand-in-hand. Don’t think you are going to get a mule and win the Kentucky Derby. That will not happen. All you can do is get the best parts that you can.”

Thigpen’s background also includes a stint as linebackers coach at Tennessee State in 2000. He coached cornerbacks and served as the special teams coordinator at Bowling Green in 2001-02 and then split the 2003-04 seasons as cornerbacks and linebackers coaches at Illinois before returning home to Chapel Hill.

At Michigan in 2010, Greg Robinson ran a 3-4 defense, but moved to a 3-3-5 defense to better accommodate the Wolverines' personnel.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a defense where there weren’t areas altered each year to your personnel or to what the offensive world is doing,” Robinson said that season. “You have to do that. You tweak constantly, you do throughout the season because you begin to see what you have more in your talent level and you also say, ‘Hey, this is what we have to do to defend.’ That’s kind of where I see it.”

In 2010, the Wolverines fell to the bottom of the conference in total defense and last in scoring defense, giving up 35.2 points per game and 57 touchdowns (111th nationally). The adjusted stats bore that out, as well, as S&P+ pegged the Wolverines as the No. 81 defense in the country.

At Texas, Robinson was part of the 11-1 season 2004 which included the Longhorns’ first BCS Bowl win against Michigan. In 2013, Robinson returned to Austin as a defensive analyst and scout. He was promoted to defensive coordinator after Manny Diaz was fired following a 40-21 loss to Brigham Young where the Longhorns gave up 550 rushing yards to the Cougars.

"We’re very fortunate that Greg has been around, watched all of our practice video and has a good scouting report moving forward," Brown said after promoting Robinson mid-season in 2013. "His familiarity with the staff and players should make for a smooth transition. He knows this place, did a terrific job in leading our defense before, and I’m excited to have him back on the field.

By the end of the season, Robinson had indeed turned around the Texas defense. The Longhorns led the conference in sacks. Under Robinson, Texas's defense gave up 107.4 rushing yards per game and 320.1 total yards per game, the 23rd best mark in the country that season.

"It's really amazing to see what Greg Robinson and those defensive coaches have done to tie this together, to put in the run-stopping defense they put in today," Brown said following Texas' upset of Oklahoma in 2013. "It's amazing to see after the BYU game what this has become."

The turnaround was evident in the 2013 Alamo Bowl against Oregon's No. 2-rated offense that averaged more than 45 points per game. Robinson's Texas defense held the Oregon offense to one touchdown and three field goals for a total of 16 points -- though Oregon returned two interceptions for touchdowns and won 30-7.

When Brown resigned after the 2013 season, new Texas coach Charlie Strong did not retain Robinson as part of his new staff.

(Ross Martin contributed to this story.)