For now, at least, Carolina is truly a football school.
When Mack Brown was here the last time, he knew that the occupational hazard of being UNC’s football coach was needing to have a good season going thru mid-October or risk losing a percentage of the fan base’s serious attention to basketball.
That wasn’t as much of a problem once Brown got his string of bowl teams rolling in 1992 through his departure in 1997. But now he has a rare opportunity that the schedule favors. By the time the basketball team gets ready to resume play, the football Tar Heels could be 7-0 and ranked near the top of the polls.
That is enough to hold the gaze and gratitude of alumni and fans, especially since Sam Howell is likely to be in the Heisman race and his team is making an authentic run toward the ACC championship and College Football Playoffs. The stars have to line up in a certain way for that to happen, but the constellations are giving us a big U-N-C.
Brown’s contract renewal sets him up to be our coach until at least 2025, and an automatic rollover could make him the ageless wonder still coaching beyond 75. And why not, with a staff that has been inked to three-year deals that almost assures there will be stability and little, if no, turnover.
If there is, he is building a stable of assistants without “coach” in their titles but nevertheless will be trained to step in if and when a spot opens up. The latest is new offensive analyst Natrone Means, one of Brown’s great running backs of his first stint, who is living proof that signing with Carolina is not a 4-year, but a 40-year commitment.
Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice twice was runner-up for the Heisman, and Howell is positioned to finally bring that hardware home to Chapel Hill. He may not be the best, but is certainly the most publicized returning quarterback in the nation, tabbed by several mock NFL draft boards as the first overall pick in 2022.
That kind of advanced pub is more reminiscent of Carolina basketball teams that often turn out overrated and leave us feeling let down. UNC football has everything needed to keep the eyes of Tar Heel Nation focused on the oblong ball for as long as Brown’s boys live up to their reputation, which is excitingly immense.
Photo via ACC Media.
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