Sports

Mack Brown Will Continue Coaching UNC Football After Refusal To Resign

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UNC football coach Mack Brown stands on the field before a game.

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The UNC football program hired legendary head coach Mack Brown in 2019, representing his second stint in Chapel Hill. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem the most recent tenure will end as amicably as his first.

Between 1988 and 1997, Brown led the Tar Heels to 69 victories. After going 1-10 in each of his first two years, he’d go on to post eight straight winning seasons. That included a trio of 10-win campaigns.

After the ’97 season, he opted to walk away. He was hired by the Texas Longhorns where he’d continue to elevate his head coaching resume by winning a national championship and playing for another.

Brown decided to hang it up in 2013, stepping down as success tapered across his final four seasons at the helm. He retired as one of college football’s greats, but he couldn’t stay away from the game too long!

In 2019, he returned to Chapel Hill, leading the UNC football program to a 44-32 record across six seasons. The ’24 campaign hasn’t gone according to plan. After climbing as high as No. 10 in the AP poll the year prior, the Tar Heels have struggled on the field this season.

North Carolina has been embarrassed by James Madison, gotten blown out by Boston College, and surrendered a 20-point second half lead to rival Duke. They’ll enter their final matchup with NC State at 6-5.

Despite calls for his retirement, Mack Brown has remained relatively firm on his plan to continue coaching. After losing to JMU, he said he would “step away if things couldn’t get straightened out.” He later retracted by telling ESPN he had no intentions of resigning.

He doubled down on that position as the year continued, though results failed to improve. Just last week, he was again asked about the possibility of stepping down. Again, he refused!

“There’s going to be a day I wake up and say, ‘Somebody else needs to be doing this,'” he said while speaking with Sirius XM Radio. “I haven’t gotten to that point.”

On Tuesday, the university gave him no choice!

UNC football fired Mack Brown after he refused to retire.

Brown wasn’t going to resign, so the Tar Heels took things into their own hands. He’s now been let go.

His time will end in Chapel Hill after 16 seasons across those two stints. This year marks his 35th as an FBS head coach. Brown released a statement on the firing shortly after news broke.

Though his time with the Tar Heels is officially coming to an end, his time on the sidelines isn’t quite done. He’ll continue to coach the team throughout the remainder of the regular season, and possibly beyond!

Pete Thamel of ESPN says that “[Mack] Brown will coach on Saturday in its season finale against NC State.” He added that, “a decision has not been reached on whether Brown will coach in a Bowl game.”

Brown will lead the Tar Heels for one last rivalry game, and potentially a postseason matchup with UNC having crossed the six-win threshold. Hopefully, he can end his tenure on a high with a pair of North Carolina wins. He’ll then have to decide whether or not to continue coaching at a different university or retire for good.