Mack Brown had been telling people he planned on being the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach beyond this season.
But, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had other ideas.
A day after confirming his intentions to continue as North Carolina’s head coach following the 2024 season, the 73-year-old Brown was relieved of duties. The school released a statement Tuesday saying that Brown would not be back for another season but would coach the team’s final regular season game against NC State this coming Saturday.
A decision on whether Brown will coach a prospective Bowl Game has not been reached.
Nor has a decision been made on Brown’s future. But if his recent comments are any indication, he doesn’t want to stop coaching and perhaps not stop working. The problem for Brown is that it’s difficult to see a program hiring a 73-year-old head coach, no matter what his resume might say.
Brown spent five years at ESPN after resigning from the University of Texas. He returned to coaching in 2018, heading back to Chapel Hill, where he had previously served as head coach from 1988-1997. He helped breathe life back into a program that had struggled under Larry Fedora’s leadership.
After some notable recruiting wins and transforming Sam Howell and Drake Maye into NFL Draft prospects, Brown struggled to push the Tar Heels to the next level. Heading into its final game, the program’s inconsistency became undeniable, as it sits 12th in the ACC with a 6-5 record and 3-4 in the conference.
Sure, the loss of quarterback Max Johnson for the season didn’t help, but it wasn’t the only issue.
In an odd moment earlier this season, Brown even offered to step down in the locker room following a disheartening 70-50 loss to James Madison. But instead of stepping aside, he returned to the helm after players took ownership of the defeat.
He chose to move forward; the university did not.
So, what does that mean for his future?
UNC’s opening is now the most attractive — and the only Power Four – opening on the market. While programs like Fresno State, Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss, Utah State, Charlotte, Temple, Central Michigan, Ball State, UMass and Kennesaw State are also searching for a new head coach, it’s hard to imagine Brown moving down to a non-Power Four program at this stage of his career.
In today’s climate, it’s a two-way street. Despite his impressive resume, it’s difficult to envision a lower-tier program investing in a 73-year-old who could retire at any given moment, especially when those programs are already fighting an uphill battle in the NIL era.
If a team wanted Brown to serve as a bridge between now and a future head coach, that could work, but it’s not exactly a sell to recruits. Why would a player commit to a program like Charlotte, knowing their future coach might retire before they even get their chance to play under him?
It just doesn’t make sense.
What does make sense, though, is a return to ESPN. He wouldn’t be the only former head coach back in the booth, as Dan Mullen and Steve Addazio, among several others, have made that transition. And for Mack Brown, it might just be the perfect way to close out his career.
But it also might just be his only option.
When he was at ESPN during his coaching hiatus, Brown’s primary role was with the ABC studio team alongside Kevin Negandhi and Jonathan Vilma. He was also part of a broadcast team with Adam Amin and Molly McGrath, which was an underrated trio, even if there was one time he left Amin solo.
Ultimately, Brown was replaced by Mark Sanchez, who joined Negandhi and Vilma in the studio.
Given his close relationship with Negandhi, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Brown return to the studio alongside the SportsCenter anchor and Booger McFarland during halftime or even step in as a color analyst for select games.
Negandhi and McFarland are a solid duo, but after five seasons on the sidelines in a new era of college football, Brown’s insights could take their halftime show to the next level.
Of course, it takes two to tango, and it remains to be seen if either side would be interested in this reunion, but it does present itself as the best option for a 73-year-old who doesn’t appear to want to be done with football just yet.
And if nothing else, it gives Mack Brown a chance to go out on his own terms.
