CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers have a new linebackers coach.
The Panthers will hire University of Georgia linebackers coach Warren Belin, school spokesman Claude Felton confirmed Thursday.
The Panthers will not announce the hire until Belin signs the contract.
Belin, 43, has been a college assistant for 20 years at Cornell, East Tennessee State, William & Mary, SMU, Vanderbilt and Georgia.
Belin is a native of Marshville, N.C., and played at Wake Forest as a linebacker. Belin was Georgia's inside linebackers coach for one season. He joined the Bulldogs after spending eight seasons coaching the linebackers at Vanderbilt.
Georgia coach Mark Richt now has two empty positions on his staff. Stacy Searels was hired as the Texas offensive line coach two weeks ago.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press