North Carolina A day after the Hall of Fame coach, Mack Brown announced Tuesday that he will not return next season. announced his intention to return. To the Tar Heels.
Athletic director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown of his decision on Tuesday. Brown, 73, will coach the team against him in the regular-season finale. NC State Saturday, but has not yet decided whether he will coach the Tar Heels (6-5) in their bowl game.
“While it wasn’t the best time and way I envisioned going out, no time is ever the best,” Brown said in a statement. “I spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships that Sally and I made while serving as head coach.
“We have had the opportunity to coach and mentor some great young men, and we will miss the opportunity to do so in the future. Going forward, my full attention is focused on preparing these players and coaches for Saturday’s game against NC.” It’s on to help. State and give them the best chance to win. We want to send these seniors out the right way and I hope our fans show up on Saturday to do that.
In two stints at North Carolina, Brown went a combined 113-78-1. Brown, with whom he won a national championship. Texas After his first UNC stint, returned to the Tar Heels in 2019 and led them to the ACC Championship Game in 2022.
“Mick Brown has won more games than any football coach in UNC history, and we deeply appreciate all he has done for Carolina football and our university,” Cunningham said in a statement. is.” Cunningham said in a statement. in Chapel Hill — he has coached our team to six bowl berths, including one Orange Bowl, while guiding 18 NFL draft picks.
“…Coach Brown has led the Carolina football program into the national conversation as we have improved program facilities, significantly increased staff size, invested in salaries and expanded our nutrition and strength and conditioning programs. A dedicated fundraiser, we thank Coach Brown for supporting the football endowment as well as our other sports programs, and wish Sally and her the best of luck. “All the best to the family.”
Brown ranks eighth among FBS coaches with 288 victories, and is the only coach with more than 100 wins at multiple FBS schools — 113 at North Carolina and 158 at Texas.
After Browning out, there are now two active FBS head coaches who have won a national championship: GeorgiaKirby Smart and ClemsonKey Dabo Swinney.
As Brown’s season ends, Cunningham and chancellor Lee H. Roberts will begin the search for a new head coach.
Brown has three years remaining on his contract, which pays him $5 million annually. The rest of the contract will be paid for by the UNC athletic department and not through state funds, the school said.
Tuesday’s announcement culminates months of speculation about Brown and his future with the school. After allowing a school record 70 points in an embarrassing home loss James Madison In September, Brown told the Tar Heels in the locker room that he would resign if the team felt he couldn’t do it anymore. His comments were leaked publicly, and Brown had to announce that he was not resigning.
North Carolina lost three more games from there, then dealt with the loss of a receiver Tile CraftWHO Died in October 2½ years after cancer diagnosis.
Brown told ESPN in a recent interview that his perspective has since changed, with him believing the team needs him now more than ever to “step up and get stronger and Try to help them learn to weather these storms and this turmoil.”
After winning three in a row — including Brown’s first win at his alma mater, Florida State — Stumbled into another poor performance at North Carolina Boston College Last weekend, lost 41-21.
That didn’t stop Brown from announcing during his weekly news conference Monday that he plans to return to North Carolina. However, he also said he has yet to meet with Cunningham to discuss his long-term future.
“No player has ever come up to me and asked me about my future. No coach has ever come up to me and asked me about my future. That’s what happens this time of year,” Brown said Monday. ” Brown said Monday. “It’s really funny, if you lose a game now you’re fired. It’s 100%, it’s unbelievable. So why worry, you’ve got to do your job.”
In 36 seasons as a head coach, Brown has gone 288-154-1. He started his head coaching. Appalachian State In 1983, then led Tulane in 1985 and, after three seasons there, moved to North Carolina. After back-to-back 1-10 seasons, Brown turned the Tar Heels program around, leading them to nine or more wins four times. Texas hired him in 1998, and he won the most recent national championship for the Longhorns in 2005.
After departing Texas in 2013 after 16 seasons there, Brown spent time working as a television analyst at ESPN. He returned to North Carolina after a five-year coaching hiatus to try to revive a stagnant Tar Heels program. During his most recent tenure, he led North Carolina to the 2022 ACC Championship Game and helped Drake May become a first-round draft pick in 2024.
Big starts to the 2022 and 2023 seasons — including a move as high as No. 10 in 2023 — ended in disappointment as Brown didn’t lead North Carolina to the 10-win mark. The 2024 season got off to a rough start at starting quarterback. Max Johnson He broke his leg in the opener and was lost for the season.
Still, the way Brown’s team responded to adversity, and the death of his beloved teammate, is something Brown told ESPN last week that he will always remember.
“It’s been one of the most satisfying years I’ve ever had because people are responding to each other,” Brown said before the Boston College game.