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Mack Brown’s comings and goings aren’t bad by comparison.
It depends on what side of the Mack is Back drama you are on, whether you believe he was treated poorly by the university or he was hedging to try to get the best departure for himself.
It is pretty clear that the 2024 season would be his last after the 70-50 loss to James Madison, followed by behavior unbecoming of a Hall of Fame coach. After four straight losses for his team, Brown was clearly coaching his last season in Chapel Hill. Then buoyed by three wins over pretty bad ACC teams, Brown seemed to believe he wasn’t quite done yet.
With a chance to still go 9-4, his future flipped during and after a terrible performance at Boston College. It seemed like a fait accompli even if the Tar Heels could snap a three-game losing streak to N.C. State and win a bowl game for the first time since 2019.
Brown said at his last regular season press conference that he was coming back for a seventh year, which put him in the crosshairs with Bubba Cuningham who had informally begun a search for a replacement after the JMU debacle. When Cunningham asked him to resign that afternoon, Brown refused and put his boss in a corner that led to his firing the next morning.
Sure, there was some money involved, around $3 million if Brown was fired, but that had to be irrelevant for a multi-millionaire many times over. Maybe he thought a big win over State could get the Board of Trustees on his side in the triangle with Cunningham, who was ready to make a move.
That changed any plan for Brown to retire gracefully with a press conference like Roy Williams and Anson Dorrance had held. He admitted after the tough loss to State that he knew it was time to go, just not the way it came down.
He referred to it as a “he said, he said” situation, and frankly a coach getting relieved of his duties is never clean or easy. But we have to keep in mind that whenever Brown or any long-time icon leaves, it can be a complicated story.
When Mack left Tulane for UNC in 1988, it was a lot messier with the collapse of Dick Crum’s program for the coach, it turned out, to have won Carolina’s last ACC championship in 1980. The arrest of a star running back and a terrible outcome against opponents with winning records doomed Crum in his last few years.
Former General Alumni Association executive director Doug Dibbert spelled that out in his regular column in the University Report that you can read here. By comparison, while Brown and UNC could have both handled it better, the coach with the most wins in UNC history leaves the sideline as a far more beloved figure than any of his predecessors.
Featured image via Associated Press/Karl B. DeBlaker
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.
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We’ll, I’ve followed UNC everything since I was a boy and they will always be my favorite team!! It bothered me how they done Mack and should’ve been handled differently for a Hall of Fame coach!! Lavelle Edwards longtime BYU coach and Hall of Famer himself — sure wasn’t handled that way when he was at BYU. I think UNC can take notice of how to treat a coaching legend like Mack Brown!! God bless you sir, and thank you for all you done for UNC!!
Mack placed himself in that situation. He was born at night, but not last night. He tried a power move with no power but his personality. He needed performance to even have a shot at staying. If his name was Bill Brown he would have been done 3 years ago. Collegiate sports is a business. UNC wasn’t getting a ROI with Mack given the millions poured into infrastructure and facility improvements. Plus he’s 73! Signing with a coach who would be 77-78 when a player this year commits is a no go. It only gets worse year after year. Mack even looks old. Big belly grandfather looking dude. I’m close to his age and he looks old to me. Imagine a kid 55 years his junior whose parents are younger than him too. Bottom line, Mack didn’t need the money or accolades but allowed his ego to lead him to an ugly, but avoidable ending. Bubba has a job to do too. Mack owed him some consideration because no one else but Bubba would have hired a 66 year old who hadn’t coached in 5 years. This was on Mack. Period. He reads the threads. Fan and alumni feedback. I like the guy, but I’m tired of losing to mediocre programs. Bellichik is Mack remained. Don’t do it Bubba! Team’s steal recruits. Steal a damn coach!
Certainly understandable why North Carolina decided a change of leadership with the football program needed to be made. That said, I wonder where Mack and NC football would currently be if Johnson had not been hurt and had been able to play qb all season long?
Not only Johnson’s injury, but all the other abnormal issues the team faced this year. And even with all that, a handful of points scored or un-allowed and this team is an easy 9-3
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.
We’ll, I’ve followed UNC everything since I was a boy and they will always be my favorite team!! It bothered me how they done Mack and should’ve been handled differently for a Hall of Fame coach!! Lavelle Edwards longtime BYU coach and Hall of Famer himself — sure wasn’t handled that way when he was at BYU. I think UNC can take notice of how to treat a coaching legend like Mack Brown!! God bless you sir, and thank you for all you done for UNC!!
Mack placed himself in that situation. He was born at night, but not last night. He tried a power move with no power but his personality. He needed performance to even have a shot at staying. If his name was Bill Brown he would have been done 3 years ago. Collegiate sports is a business. UNC wasn’t getting a ROI with Mack given the millions poured into infrastructure and facility improvements. Plus he’s 73! Signing with a coach who would be 77-78 when a player this year commits is a no go. It only gets worse year after year. Mack even looks old. Big belly grandfather looking dude. I’m close to his age and he looks old to me. Imagine a kid 55 years his junior whose parents are younger than him too. Bottom line, Mack didn’t need the money or accolades but allowed his ego to lead him to an ugly, but avoidable ending. Bubba has a job to do too. Mack owed him some consideration because no one else but Bubba would have hired a 66 year old who hadn’t coached in 5 years. This was on Mack. Period. He reads the threads. Fan and alumni feedback. I like the guy, but I’m tired of losing to mediocre programs. Bellichik is Mack remained. Don’t do it Bubba! Team’s steal recruits. Steal a damn coach!
Mack Brown is a HOF coach for what he did at Texas, the school he left UNC high and dry for, and the school that also fired him for low performance.
Certainly understandable why North Carolina decided a change of leadership with the football program needed to be made. That said, I wonder where Mack and NC football would currently be if Johnson had not been hurt and had been able to play qb all season long?
Not only Johnson’s injury, but all the other abnormal issues the team faced this year. And even with all that, a handful of points scored or un-allowed and this team is an easy 9-3