Six years to the day of the Mack Brown 2.0 era beginning at UNC, the athletic department decided to move on from the Hall of Famer head coach. A release from Carolina Athletics announced the news on Tuesday morning, committing to have Brown lead the Tar Heels through the end of the regular season vs. N.C. State — but no further beyond Saturday’s game.

The 73-year-old said his firing was “not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out,” but that he will cherish the 16 years he’s spent leading UNC’s football program. Brown will depart after having turned around Carolina from winning five games across two years before his hiring to six consecutive bowl game appearances and an ACC Championship appearance in 2022 — while achieving even higher heights during his initial tenure from 1988-1997.

The news sparked a variety of reactions from UNC fans and the football community, with many praising Brown for his accomplishments and turnaround of the program. Here are some of the highlights shared on social media by those around the Carolina Athletics community, media members who either reported on or worked with Brown at ESPN, his coaching peers in college football, and others.

#UVA coach Tony Elliott on Mack Brown …

— Mike Barber (@stillmikebarber.bsky.social) 2024-11-26T18:33:19.224Z

#TCU head coach Sonny Dykes told us this anecdote about his longtime friend Mack Brown during media availability today. It was announced earlier Tuesday that Brown will not return to North Carolina next season.

— Jamie Plunkett (@frogpreacher.bsky.social) 2024-11-26T20:51:51.961Z

 

Featured image via AP Photo/Erik Verduzco.

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