Carl Torbush

Under Torbush, the team recorded a 3–8 season in 1987 highlighted by the defense and a win over Kansas.

After only one year as head coach at Louisiana Tech, Torbush joined the UNC coaching staff in 1988 as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was the only member of Mack Brown's original coaching staff to stay throughout Brown's 10-year tenure. He recruited and coached many defensive standouts; his 1995, 1996 and 1997 units led the nation in total defense three years in a row and were often regarded as the best in the country. Torbush was a 1997 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach. During his time at UNC, at least one of his linebackers went pro every year. Among his more notable players were Julius Peppers, Brian Simmons, Greg Ellis, and Dré Bly.

After the 1997 season, Brown announced he was moving to the University of Texas. He left the team immediately, and Torbush was named to replace him. He coached the team in the 1998 Gator Bowl, capping off one of the Tar Heels' best seasons ever. The Tar Heels finished with an 11–1 record, only the third 11-win season in school history. They also finished sixth in the AP Poll and fourth in the coaches' poll—their highest ranking in the major media polls in half a century. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and that Gator Bowl to Torbush.

Despite the loss of most of the team's defensive stars of the last three years, the Tar Heels were expected to pick up right where they left off in 1998. However, they never really recovered from an unexpected loss to Miami (Ohio) to open the 1998 season, in which they barely managed to qualify for the Las Vegas Bowl. The next year was an unmitigated disaster. The team was riddled with injuries, the most devastating one occurring when quarterback Ronald Curry tore his Achilles tendon. The Tar Heels were so thin at quarterback that they were forced to convert safety Antwon Black to quarterback, but he was lost after two games to mononucleosis. After starting the season 1–1, the Tar Heels didn't win another game until beating North Carolina State in November. They finished 3–8—UNC's first losing season since Brown's two consecutive 1–10 seasons in 1988 and 1989. School officials actually planned to fire him after the season, but an outpouring of support from players and fans led to a change of heart. He was, however, forced to fire several members of his staff, including offensive coordinator Steve Marshall, who had been criticized for being too conservative in his play calling.

The Tar Heels rebounded to finish 6–5 in 2000, but it wasn't enough to save his job; he was fired at the end of the season.

Torbush established the newly restarted program at East Tennessee State, which had last played in the 2003 season. The Buccaneers signed their first class in 2014, redshirting all players, and began a year of practice in preparation for the 2015 season, when the team competed as an NCAA Division I FCS independent. In the 2016 season they joined the Southern Conference. On December 8, 2017, Torbush announced his retirement from coaching. In his time as ETSU head coach, he had an overall record of 11–22 record with 4–12 mark in SoCon play. Overall, he finished with a 31–48 career head coaching record.