Official: North Carolina hiring Mack Brown as head coach
Days after firing Larry Fedora, North Carolina officially announced its new coach.
You may have heard of him.
First reported by multiple outlets on Monday and made official Tuesday morning, the Tar Heels are bringing back Mack Brown. Yes, that Mack Brown.
“[Wife] Sally and I love North Carolina, we love this University and we are thrilled to be back,” Brown said in a North Carolina statement. “The best part of coaching is the players – building relationships, building confidence, and ultimately seeing them build success on and off the field. We can’t to wait to meet our current student-athletes and reconnect with friends, alumni and fellow Tar Heel coaches. We thank UNC’s Board of Trustees, Chancellor Folt and [athletic director] Bubba Cunningham for supporting our return to the Carolina family.”
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The 67-year-old Brown has not coached since he and Texas parted ways after the 2013 season, but will apparently be returning to Chapel Hill, where he served as head coach from 1988 to 1997. Brown had a 69-46-1 record, including three 10-win seasons, at UNC before he made the move to Texas.
“Mack Brown has a proven record of building great teams, and he doesn’t just develop football players – he also develops people of strong character,” Cunningham said in a statement. “He knows how to win championships, and he expects his student-athletes to win in the classroom and community, as well. We are excited about his plans for our football program, and I am thrilled to welcome Coach Brown and wife Sally back to Chapel Hill.”
Brown led a lengthy period of success with the Longhorns, including winning the 2005 BCS national title in the infamous Rose Bowl game against USC. Brown led UT back to the BCS title game one more time, in 2009, but the Longhorns lost to Alabama.
After that season, things fizzled out with UT combining for a 30-21 (18-17 Big 12) record over his last four seasons. At the end of the 2013 season, he announced his (forced) resignation from Texas and has not coached since.
North Carolina has won just five games over the last two seasons, so Brown has some work to do.
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