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This weekend marks the transition to another UNC football era.
It is sort of sad how the Mack Brown eras pass on Saturday night with the start of Bill Belichick’s attempt to finally awaken the so-called sleeping giant that hides among the pines of Kenan Stadium.
Brown’s two tenures leading the Tar Heels ended like they should not have as the Belichick spectra begins in Boston where he was the two-decade banner headline of the New England Patriots’ reign over the National Football League.
The Tar Heels, Brown’s sixth and 16th UNC team over a 36-year span, complete their 2024 season at 11 a.m. in the baseball stadium of the Red Sox. Freddie Kitchens is the one-off interim coach after Brown’s unceremonious firing on December 1, while Belichick observes from the press box which players will be part of his debut to college football in 2025.
Meanwhile, two hours later, Drake Maye continues his rookie indoctrination into the NFL as the 3-12 Patriots play host to the LA Chargers in famous Foxboro, the sleepy suburban town south of the city that became their home decades ago. If that game was on its usual Sunday, Belichick might be there watching Maye, who would definitely have been at Fenway Park to cheer on his former Tar Heels trying to turn their 6-6 record into 7-6.
The coincidental juxtaposition underscores what a seismic shift has occurred from one college Hall of Fame coach to another future inductee into the NFL Hall. Much of the area won’t even tune into the college game that represents a gross mismanagement of Brown’s forced retirement that could have been handled so much better.
That won’t be the case next fall, when Belichick tries his hand in the amateur ranks quickly morphing into what the pros looked like when he took over the Pats in 2000 and will be cheered and jeered by football fans all over America. Some skeptics believe he won’t last long in the college game before returning to the pros now that his son Steve is in place as the heir apparent to his 72-year-old dad who has a guaranteed three-year deal at UNC.
Brown did not coach the bowl at the end of his first stay at Carolina. In 1997, after he accepted the Texas job, defensive coordinator Carl Torbush led the Heels to a blowout of Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl before being named the new head coach.
So in many ways this bowl seems far less important with about 50 holdovers who will be on Belichick’s new roster, joined by what could be dozens from the transfer portal. Brown has reportedly packed up and moved back to Austin where he will raise money for the Longhorns when he should have been invited to do that at more-needy UNC.
Instead of an appreciative farewell, the school sent him away mad when he could have been celebrated for twice making Carolina football relevant, even if it’s not revered.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications
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.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
So let me get this straight: Mack (who made millions at UNC) leaves UNC “mad?” Hmmmm….
Back to that in just a minute.
There is NO DOUBT (S)mack can raise money and that UNC can use all the money he could have raised as players now “play for pay.” And it’s not just a few grand here and there like many schools have paid their players for decades. It’s in the millions now and the schools with the most money will have the best teams (much like it’s been for decades).
But Mack leaves for Austin “mad?” And by the term “mad” I guess Art means “angry” not “nuts” as the term “mad” also means.
But I think it’s both in that the “Hall Of Famer” truly thought he was doing a great job at UNC. But the numbers seem to tell a different story: He was 44 and 33 this time around, having beaten only one decent team (Minnesota)this year and rarely beating any team worth a darn in his 2.0 tenure. Plus he lost his last 2 games, his last 3 games, his last 4 games, and 3 of his last 4 games in the last 4 years. That’s 12 losses in his last 13 games to end the seasons, if you’re keeping score at home! That’s well less than a 10 percent success rate. Only TV meteorologists are retained with percentages like that. But I wish Mack the best! He’s really a good guy! He’s just “mad” when it comes to coaching!
(And Belichick might not do any better, but he can’t do any worse.)
It’s unfortunate for everyone it ended the way it did. Both parties could have handled it better. I do wonder if the way it went down soured some other coaches we pursued. Regardless of whose fault it was, it’s not a good look to fire a HOF coach. My guess is Mack thought he had cover and could strong arm Cunningham and Roberts. But he miscalculated and suffered the humiliation. That’s on him.
100% Agree with Derrick James here. Mack was getting paid millions to coach, but was to comfortable with his situation & mediocrity.
Nothing uttered of Mack’s failed power play to coach another year. His unhappiness at the end was mostly self-inflicted, coming from inside his camp. If Mr Chansky’s “forced out” version is accurate perhaps he should present it, along with timelines, with statements from all those involved in the events. Maybe a FOIA request of phone records, e-mails, texts, interviews etc. There are always more than just one side of events but this throw away statement Mr Chansky’s version of events without documented evidence; “represents a gross mismanagement of Brown’s forced retirement that could have been handled so much better.” In a different era of journalism, a mildly competent editor, would have axed that line. If it’s true Art, “show us the meat.”
Reality is, the Mack Brown era ended in 1997.
Reality is, integrity ended at UNC with the biggest academic fraud in ACC history. Handling situations badly is par for the course.