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The Hall of Famer won’t be on Mack Brown. North Carolina Tar Heels After next season, the university announced Tuesday that it is moving on from the program’s winningest head coach.
The announcement came a day after Brown said he plans to return in 2025 with three years remaining on his contract.
Brown began his second term in Chapel Hill in 2019. His first tenure at UNC began in 1988, and he left after the 1997 season.
Brown was then named head coach. In TexasLeading the Longhorns to a national championship in 2005. Although UNC officials have decided to make a coaching change, Brown will be retained at least through the Tar Heels’ regular-season finale against North Carolina State on Saturday. It’s unclear if Brown will continue for the Bowl game.
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North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown during the first half of Duke’s Mayo Bowl game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Bank of America Stadium on December 30, 2021 in Charlotte, NC. (Getty Images)
In a statement to the program, Brown said he was focusing on the rivalry game with him. The Wolf Pack.
“Although it wasn’t the best time and way I envisioned going out, no time is going to be the best time,” Brown said. “I spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships that (wife) Sally and I made while serving as head coach. We got to coach and mentor some great young men. have had the opportunity, and we will not have the opportunity to do so in the future.”
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Athletic director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown that a coaching change would be made, though no specific reason for the change was immediately made public.
Cunningham praised Brown for holding the program’s career record for wins and pushing for improvements to the program’s infrastructure. He also praised Brown for his leadership in the community and during tough times, such as the recent death of player Tilly Croft after a battle with cancer.
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown before the start of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Oct. 28, 2023, at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Tar Heels were bowl eligible in each season of Brown’s second tenure after stabilizing the crashing program, and the team reached the ACC Championship Game in 2022. But this year’s team faced the tough challenge of landing the No. 3 overall spot. The NFL Draft Pick Drake May at quarterback, had a rough first half of the season that shook confidence at the core of the program.
The low-point Tar Heels surrendered 70 points in a home loss against James Madison. In the aftermath, Brown invited uncertainty about the immediate future of the program with emotional locker room comments to the team in which he wondered if he should stay on as coach.
North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown runs onto the field for the ACC Championship Game against the Clemson Tigers at Bank of America Stadium on December 3, 2022 in Charlotte, NC. (Aiken Howard/Getty Images)
Brown apologized and said he was “disappointed in me” with how he handled the loss, which came amid a four-game skid after starting 3-0.
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Brown has 288 career victories, including 113 at UNC, and all but six of his career wins. College football to rank him as the winningest active coach in the Bowl Subdivision ranks. Brown, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney are the only active FBS coaches with the national title.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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