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Mack Brown is an advocate for all coaches, no matter what it may look like.
Early in Brown’s first tour at UNC, he talked as much as he does now but had not earned a lot of credibility in his first two seasons when Carolina went 2-20. Rascal Steve Spurrier ridiculed him with the nickname “Mr. Football.”
Brown made the national news last week after the big win over Miami, one writer pointing out he had another prolonged post-game handshake with an opposing coach, this time Miami’s Mario Cristobal. Tar Heel fans who watch their athletes and coaches closely have noticed it for five years.
Is Mack offering condolences to six coaches he’d beaten this season, congratulations to the five coaches he lost to last year or simply mentoring all of them because so many have been such an important influence on him?
During Monday’s media press conference, Brown singled out Tony Elliott, the Virginia coach and UNC’s opponent Saturday at 6:30 at Kenan Stadium. And there was both sadness and good-natured ribbing involved.
“I’ve got great respect for Tony Elliott,” Brown said. “His life story is unbelievable. If you haven’t read it, you should. He’s overcome so many things in his life to get where he is today. And I admire him. I respect him. He’s an outstanding young coach.”
The Cavaliers are 1-5 and in the early stages of rebuilding since second-year coach Elliott replaced the retiring Bronco Mendenhall. Before finishing 3-7 last season, the Cavaliers suffered the unthinkable tragedy of three players being shot and killed by a former teammate. UVa cancelled its last two scheduled games.
“What he went through last year with his team is something none of us ever want to have,” Brown said. “And he handled it with grace and helped everybody manage it through a very difficult time.
“He sits with me at the ACC meetings because he said he’d been with Dabo (Swinney, his former boss at Clemson) so much, he doesn’t want to sit with him anymore. So I save a seat for him, and I said, ‘Now you don’t have to do what Dabo says.’”
Relationships with coaches, as well as players, was what he missed most after stepping down at Texas and five years with ESPN. And, despite rumors swirling this will be his last season on the sideline when Drake Maye turns pro, Brown doesn’t act like it with an annual $5m contract running through the 2027 season when he will be 76.
On paper, Virginia should be Carolina’s easiest win so far, with the Wahoos last in the ACC in both offense and defense. They do not have a player among the top 25 in total offense, their biggest threat being Malik Washington, who leads the league in all-purpose yards – rushing, receiving and kick returns.
Watch for a handshake and a very big hug.
Featured image via Associated Press/Jeff Siner
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“Rascal Steve Spurrier”
You are much kinder than I am. Spurrier is an $@#^&&*!