Hall of Famer Mack Brown will not be on the sidelines of the North Carolina Tar Heels next season after the university announced Tuesday that it will be moving on from the program’s winningest head coach.
The announcement comes a day after Brown said he intends to return in 2025 with three years remaining on his contract.
Brown began his second stint in Chapel Hill in 2019. His first stint at UNC began in 1988, and he left after the 1997 season.
Brown has been named head coach at Texas. He led the Longhorns to the national championship in 2005, even though UNC officials decided to make a coaching change. But Brown is expected to stick around at least through the Tar Heels’ regular season finale on Saturday against North Carolina It’s unclear if Brown will be in the bowl game.
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Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of Duke’s Mayo Bowl against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Bank of America Stadium December 30, 2021 in Charlotte, NC. (Getty Images)
In a statement from the program Brown said he is focused on the rivalry game with the Wolfpack.
“Although this is not the perfect time and method as I imagined going out. But no time is ever perfect,” Brown said. “I spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always remember the memories and the relationship (wife) Sally and I had. Always created while taking on the role of head coach. We had the opportunity to coach and mentor some great young men and we’ll miss the opportunity to do that in the future.”
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Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown that there would be a coaching change. Although specific reasons for the change were not immediately made public,
Cunningham praised Brown for maintaining the program’s career record for wins and for pushing to improve the program’s infrastructure. He also praised Brown for his leadership in the community and during difficult times, such as the recent death of player Tylee Craft after a battle with cancer.
North Carolina head coach Mac Brown before kickoff game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on September 28, 2023 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Tar Heels are eligible to play in every season of Brown’s second stint with the team after he stabilized a failing program. And the team reached the ACC championship game in 2022, but this year’s team Facing a daunting challenge in replacing the No. 1 pick, 3rd overall NFL draft pick Drake Maye at quarterback. There was a difficult first half of the season. This shakes confidence in the program’s foundation.
The low point was the Tar Heels surrendering 70 points in a home loss to James Madison. As a result, Brown caused uncertainty about the program’s immediate future. along with making emotional locker room comments to the team This included him wondering if he should stay on as coach.
Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels 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. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Brown apologized and said he “Disappointed in me” for how I handled the defeat. That comes 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 victories have come at the highest level of college football to rank him as the most active coach to win in the Bowl Subdivision ranks. Brown, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney are the only FBS coaches to win a national championship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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