North Carolina coach Mack Brown calls out NC State coach Dave Doeren for 'classless' comments after rivalry win
Cameras caught Doeren calling North Carolina 'pieces of s***' to his players after NC State's victory
North Carolina coach Mack Brown shared his feelings about what NC State coach Dave Doeren said after the Wolfpack ended the regular season with a win over the Tar Heels.
As NC State was celebrating a third consecutive win over North Carolina, Doeren called the Tar Heels “pieces of s***” in the locker room. The remarks quickly became public, as ACC Network cameras were rolling while Doeren and the Wolfpack were enjoying their ninth win of the season.
“It’s been 1,460 days since those pieces of s*** beat us,” Doeren told his team after its 39-20 win on Nov. 25.
Dave Doeren cutting some serious wrestling promos now. @edsbs pic.twitter.com/hfrr9kBZ3a
— James Curle (@JamesCurle) November 26, 2023
On Wednesday, Brown used his signing day news conference to call out Doeren for what he described as “classless” comments.
“Secondly, in our last ballgame with a rival school, the head coach of that school called our players a piece of s***,” Brown said. “And I apologize for that language, but I’ve never heard something like that before. I’m disappointed. I thought it was classless. It’s not truth. No. 1, we didn’t play well in the game, we didn’t coach well in the game, that’s been very well-documented, I got that.
“But you don’t call kids a piece of s***. And I’ve addressed it with our team, I’ve apologized to them. These kids are one of the top academic groups in America, they got an award for AFCA’s top 13, they’ve won a Coastal Division, they’ve won a bunch of games. They’ve been to an Orange Bowl, been to five straight bowls. They represent us well. And from me speaking for them and their parents, they really didn’t appreciate being called a piece of s***.”
Doeren was asked about what he said following the game during his signing day news conference on Wednesday and said he had called to apologize to Brown and North Carolina after the game. He said he had a "lot of regret" that his comments were on TV because he claimed he was not informed that a camera would be in the locker room after the game.
Doeren said Wednesday that if he knew he was on camera, he wouldn't have said what he said.
"I did call coach and apologize because I could have used a lot of different words, obviously," Doeren said. "Caught me in the heat of a moment situation in the locker room celebrating a huge win. I was fired up about how we played. But I have respect for coach and the last thing I wanted was for him to feel that. And again, it's not an excuse but it shouldn't have been on TV."
Doeren responds to making comments about UNC in locker room. pic.twitter.com/0x96H3RgkZ
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) December 20, 2023
As you can imagine, there is very little love lost between the two in-state rivals. While you can understand why Brown feels the way he does about what Doeren said, college football is better when in-state rivals are both good. Although UNC’s last win over NC State came in 2020 — the year the Tar Heels went to the Orange Bowl — the rivalry is spicier because both teams have been making regular top-25 appearances recently.
While NC State is looking for its first 10-win season since 2002, the Wolfpack have won at least eight games seven times since Doeren took over in 2012. North Carolina has posted four winning seasons in the five years since Mack Brown returned to the school. UNC had won just five games combined in the 2017 and 2018 seasons before Brown came back for his second stint.
Both teams are recruiting well off the back of that success, too. North Carolina’s 27-member recruiting class ranks 22nd in Rivals’ 2024 rankings, while NC State is just four spots below in 26th.
