Hall of Famer Mack Brown will not be on the North Carolina Tar Heels’ sideline next season after the university announced Tuesday it was moving on from the program’s winningest head coach.
The announcement came one day after Brown said he intended to return in 2025 with three years remaining on his contract.
Brown began his second stint in Chapel Hill in 2019. His first stint at UNC began in 1988, and he departed after the 1997 season.
Brown was then named the head coach at Texas, leading the Longhorns to the national championship in 2005. Although UNC officials have decided to make a coaching change, Brown is expected to be retained at least through the Tar Heels’ regular-season finale Saturday against North Carolina State. It’s unclear if Brown will stay on for a bowl game.
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Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Bank of America Stadium Dec. 30, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. (Getty Images)
In a statement from the program, Brown said he was focused on the rivalry game with the Wolfpack.
“While this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out, no time will ever be the perfect time,” Brown said. “I’ve spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships (wife) Sally and I have built while serving as head coach. We’ve had the chance to coach and mentor some great young men, and we’ll miss having the opportunity to do that in the future.”
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Athletic director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown there would be a coaching change, although a specific reason for the change was not immediately made public.
Cunningham praised Brown for holding the program’s career record for wins and for pushing for improvements to program infrastructure. He also praised Brown for leadership in the community and during tough stretches, like the recent death of player Tylee Craft after a cancer fight.
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown before the start of a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Oct. 28, 2023, at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Tar Heels were bowl eligible in every season of Brown’s second stint after he stabilized a crashing program, and the team reached the ACC championship game in 2022. But this year’s team, facing the daunting challenge of replacing No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Drake Maye at quarterback, had a difficult first half of the season that shook confidence in the program’s footing.
The low point was the Tar Heels surrendering 70 points in a home loss to James Madison. In the aftermath, Brown invited uncertainty about the immediate future of the program with emotional locker room comments to the team that included him wondering whether he should remain as coach.
Head coach Mack Brown of the North Carolina Tar Heels runs onto the field for the ACC championship game against the Clemson Tigers at Bank of America Stadium Dec. 3, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Brown apologized and said he was “disappointed in me” for how he handled the loss, which came amid a four-game skid following a 3-0 start.
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Brown has 288 career victories, including 113 at UNC, and all but six of his overall wins came at the top level of college football to rank him as the winningest active coach in the Bowl Subdivision ranks. Brown, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney are the only active FBS coaches with a national title.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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