Chansky’s Notebook: Winners and Losers

I guess you could call Larry Fedora’s firing a win-win.

The almost two-year drama is over, with UNC making yet another coaching change in football – the fifth in this century. Fedora is gone and walks with $12-plus million. The people controlling UNC athletics, whoever exactly they are, get their wish, too.

The alumni and fan base remained split over giving Fedora one more year to return the program to winning status. Many gave up as the Tar Heels spiraled toward a second-straight nine-loss season and quit coming. Those who kept paying attention saw a team that was ravaged by injuries and cursed with back breaks, but played hard right to the last play of the coach’s last game.

Of those 18 losses, 13 were competitive in the fourth quarter. Fedora said he wanted a chance to fix what was broken and issued a classy statement when that request was denied. A guy who had eight winning seasons in his 11 as a head coach didn’t become a bad coach in two years. He probably deserved one more shot.

But a university plagued by bad optics over the last eight years wanted a clean slate. And on top of the academic scandal, spray-painting the Duke locker room the last time Carolina won back the Victory Bell, players being involved in alleged assaults, and shoe-gate to start this season were not good looks. And then there were three straight losses to your two arch rivals, which won’t do.

Where Bubba Cunningham, who extended Fedora in 2015 and gave him a big buyout, goes from here is a question that has puzzled UNC football through the ages. Even our 10-year coaches who won titles in the old ACC and earned 18 bowl bids, complained about fan apathy that left thousands of seats empty for most games.

Bubba can’t lure a big name for what looks like a rebuilding job, so whoever he introduces in a few weeks will face the same “show me” attitude from fans until he has bowl teams and ACC contenders. Unless, of course, 67-year-old Mack Brown comes back with an all-star staff and a succession plan. That would be a look too good to be true.

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