Tar Heels overcome mid-season injury run and stout Louisville defense for win No. 5.
A 27-year coaching veteran, Art Kaufman is in his third season as Carolina's linebackers coach. He was elevated to defensive coordinator in July after Everett Withers was named interim head coach. He came to UNC after one season at Southern Miss, where he coached the defensive line and was the special teams coordinator.
Under his guidance, Carolina has developed several outstanding linebackers, including 2011 NFL Draft picks Bruce Carter (second round, Dallas) and Quan Sturdivant (sixth round, Arizona), and current standouts Kevin Reddick and Zach Brown.
Despite injuries to Sturdivant and Carter in 2010, the Tar Heels still finished fourth in the ACC and 30th in the country in total defense. Reddick and Brown were the team's top tacklers.
Carolina's linebackers helped lead a defense that finished first in the ACC and sixth in the nation in total defense in 2009. The Tar Heels were 10th in the nation against the run and finished 13th in scoring defense. Carolina was the only defense in the country to finish among the top 15 in total yards allowed, scoring, rushing, passing, pass efficiency, third down percentage and tackles for losses. Sturdivant earned All-ACC honors and Carter was a second-team pick.
Kaufman, who has coached in 11 bowl games, helped lead Southern Miss to a victory over Troy in the New Orleans Bowl in 2008. A former defensive coordinator at Mississippi, Kaufman also has coached at Middle Tennessee State, East Carolina, Arkansas Tech and Louisiana Tech.
Kaufman spent three seasons at Middle Tennessee as the Blue Raiders linebackers coach and two seasons as defensive line coach at East Carolina. Prior to joining the staff at ECU, Kaufman spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Arkansas Tech.
A 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Kaufman had two stints at Mississippi, coaching in Oxford for a total of 10 years. He spent six years as the Rebels' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Kaufman was a two-time All-America linebacker during his playing days at Arkansas-Monticello and followed his four-year career with the Boll Weevils by taking a graduate assistant position at Delta State University.
He earned his first full-time coaching job in 1983 when he became the outside linebackers coach at Northwestern State University (La.). In 1987, he was named defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Northwestern State.
He left there the following year for Ole Miss to coach the Rebels' outside linebackers and defensive ends. While at Ole Miss, Kaufman helped guide the Rebels to back-to-back bowl appearances (1989 Liberty Bowl and 1991 Gator Bowl) for the first time since the 1970s.
Four years later, Kaufman was named the defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at Louisiana Tech University, where he remained until returning to Ole Miss in 1995. In 1992, his defensive unit ranked in the top five nationally.
He again served as the Rebels' defensive coordinator and linebacker coach for the next six years. During his second stint at Ole Miss, Kaufman helped the Rebels to four straight bowl berths (1997-2000), and his 1999 defense ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense.
A native of Dermott, Ark., Kaufman has three daughters: Tara, Taylor and Madison.
