Mack Brown returns to coach football at UNC. And everyone has something to say about it
Thirty years ago, Mack Brown came to North Carolina to resurrect the Tar Heels’ football program. He delivered eight straight winning seasons before he left for Texas.
On Monday, news broke that Brown, now 67, had been hired to again coach the Tar Heels.
Brown, who won the 2005 national championship at Texas, replaces Larry Fedora, who was fired after Saturday’s loss to N.C. State in Chapel Hill. In seven seasons, Fedora was 45-43 at UNC, including 2-9 in 2018.
Many UNC fans wanted the Tar Heels to find a hot young coach, such as Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield. But many were also voicing their support for a Brown return.
CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell, the former Florida State QB, applauded the hire.
On the flip side, the Texas Longhorns arm of SB Nation called the Tar Heels hire the worst hire in the history of college football.
SB Nation writer William Curry wrote that “What UNC’s athletic director Bubba Cunningham is doing this morning is digging the grave that Texas has spent the last 10 years trying to climb out. Handing the football program over to boosters who are making a hire entirely based around nostalgia and just praying it works.”
Many national writers felt that the key to Brown having success in his second stint at UNC would be largely dependent on which assistant coaches he hires, especially given his age. But what is not disputable is the success Brown had in Chapel Hill.
Tar Heel supporters are betting, firmly, that he can do it again.
In 30 years, Brown is 244-122. His 69 wins at UNC are tied for second-most in school history and he would need four more to surpass the school’s leader, Dick Crum, who has 72.
So did Carolina get the right guy? Brown’s last Tar Heel team was a top 10 national group, and Brown placed an emphasis on in-state recruiting. That’s a place where N.C. State has whipped the Tar Heels of late.
Social media certainly had its say.
The replies went two ways
The Yes For Mack Crowd
The No For Mack Crowd
This story was originally published November 26, 2018 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Mack Brown returns to coach football at UNC. And everyone has something to say about it."