The University of North Carolina has been playing football for more than a century, and yet the program is still finding new ways to let its fans down. Nobody in the long history of Kenan Stadium had seen what James Madison did to the Tar Heels on Saturday, a 70-point shelling which set a new scoring record for a venue opened during the Calvin Coolidge administration.
The bright September day was so grim that most fans had streamed to the exits by the end of the second quarter. The silver lining of this mass exodus was the relatively low volume of the boos raining down on the Tar Heels as they flocked to the safety of the locker room. Head coach Mack Brown, normally a stickler for high attendance numbers, didn’t blame the fans who left one bit.
“I felt bad for the fans and our students who came, for them to have to look at something like that,” he said. “And again, there’s only one place to put it, and that is on me.”
Brown repeatedly took the full blame for the performance during his postgame press conference, a gesture which was borne out by the fact that the program made no players available afterward, a normally standard procedure after any game, win or lose. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to get home as soon as possible.
Of course, there was nowhere for Brown to hide during the extended three-and-a-half-hour funeral that was Saturday’s game. The Hall of Famer found himself embroiled in a loss as bad as any in his decades-long career, and he had to watch.
“I don’t get to leave at the end of the first quarter. I have to stay,” Brown said. “Been some in my career I wish I could’ve left, but I can’t. And then I don’t get to b—. I have to fix. There’s differences in my job. That’s what I get paid for.”
Whether or not Brown would even have a job was in some doubt in the aftermath of the game. Inside Carolina reported Brown had offered to step down from his position in the locker room, but was urged to stay on by the players. The report then stated Brown would be back at work on Sunday like any normal weekend.
So the program enters ACC play – and a rivalry matchup at undefeated Duke this weekend – surrounded by as much uncertainty as there’s been since the end of head coach Larry Fedora’s tenure. Brown was brought in after Fedora’s firing to stabilize the ship and move the team forward, two goals which he undoubtedly achieved in a very short period of time. Now, though, without the services of an NFL-bound quarterback to mask other issues, the water is rising again. And in a sport which doesn’t deal in mercy, eight more games only appear to be opportunities to sink lower.
Featured image via Associated Press/Daniel Lin
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since the end of head coach Larry Fedora’s tenure. Brown was brought in after Fedora’s firing to stabilize the ship and move the team forward, two goals which he undoubtedly achieved in a very short period of time.
They brought in Bunting to clean up the mess that Mack left
then, they brought in Butch to clean up the mess Bunting left.
Then they brought in Fedora to clean up the mess Butch left.
Then they brought in Mack, to the tune of $5 mil, to clean up the mess Fedora left.
Next, they will go look for Bunting again.
See how this works?
Offering to resign to your players is not exactly an honorable gesture
$5 million! Amazing! I guess that’s so other schools won’t be able to snatch up such a great coach! Since Florida State is his alma mater and FSU fans are not happy, I guess they will fork out $10 million to get a “Hall Of Famer!” I sure hate to see Mack go, but I have some free time and will be glad to help him pack up.
But advice for Mack: Don’t schedule JMU.
since the end of head coach Larry Fedora’s tenure. Brown was brought in after Fedora’s firing to stabilize the ship and move the team forward, two goals which he undoubtedly achieved in a very short period of time.
They brought in Bunting to clean up the mess that Mack left
then, they brought in Butch to clean up the mess Bunting left.
Then they brought in Fedora to clean up the mess Butch left.
Then they brought in Mack, to the tune of $5 mil, to clean up the mess Fedora left.
Next, they will go look for Bunting again.
See how this works?
Offering to resign to your players is not exactly an honorable gesture
$5 million! Amazing! I guess that’s so other schools won’t be able to snatch up such a great coach! Since Florida State is his alma mater and FSU fans are not happy, I guess they will fork out $10 million to get a “Hall Of Famer!” I sure hate to see Mack go, but I have some free time and will be glad to help him pack up.
But advice for Mack: Don’t schedule JMU.