Frank Okam was promoted to Carolina's defensive line coach in the spring of 2021 after a season as the assistant defensive line coach with Carolina.
In 2020, Okam worked with a defensive line group that came on strong in the final stretch of the season. From Weeks 11-17, Carolina's defensive line ranked second in the NFL in sacks (16.0) and fourth in QB hits.
Defensive end Brian Burns led the Panthers with 9.0 sacks on the season while ranking fifth among DE's with 21 QB hits. Rookie defensive tackle Derrick Brown garnered PFWA All-Rookie honors as he posted eight tackles for loss, ranking third among all rookies in 2020.
Okam previously worked as the defensive line coach under head coach Matt Rhule at Baylor from 2018-19. During the 2019 season, Okam helped the Bears produce 46 sacks to finish the year ranked ninth in the nation. Okam coached Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch to earning the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year award, and along the way, Lynch tallied a school-record 13.5 sacks on the year (5th in the nation).
Prior to his time at Baylor, Okam spent four years at Rice University working with the defensive line from 2014 to 2017. After working as a graduate assistant during his first two years with the Owls, Okam was promoted to defensive line coach.
Okam, a fifth-round pick by the Texans in the 2008 NFL Draft, played three years in Houston before stints with Seattle, Tampa Bay and the New York Giants. Collegiately, Okam was a four-year letterman playing defensive tackle for the University of Texas from 2004 to 2007. Okam's time at Texas included a BCS National Championship in 2005, Freshman All-America honors in 2004, and back-to-back All-Big 12 recognition in 2005 and 2006.
Okam graduated from the University of Texas in 2007 with a degree in sport management before earning a master's degree in liberal studies from Rice University in 2017.
