In keeping with Inside Carolina’s Evan Rogers on 247Sports.com, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown, 73, informed reporters on Monday that he does not intend to retire after the 2024 season and expects to return for the 2025 marketing campaign.
This information comes a number of days after 247Sports.com’s Matt Zenitz reported that Brown has not too long ago told North Carolina staff, players and recruits that he’ll stay with the varsity after the present season.
In the course of their sixth yr with Brown as their head coach, the Tar Heels are heading into their last sport of the common season with a disappointing 6-5 report.
After ending with at the least eight wins in 2022 and 2023, North Carolina has taken a number of steps again this season. Nonetheless, when a program loses an elite quarterback just like the Tar Heels did after the 2023 marketing campaign when Drake Maye left to enter the NFL Draft, some regression was to be anticipated.
Nonetheless, some hoped Brown may assist North Carolina succeed much more throughout his sixth yr on the college. As a substitute, the Tar Heels have not appeared within the AP Prime-25 ballot at any level this season for the primary time since 2019, when Brown grew to become the varsity’s new head coach.
Brown is in the midst of his second stint as North Carolina’s head coach. The Tar Heels employed him in 1988, and he remained with the varsity till after the 1997 season, when he left to develop into the brand new head coach for Texas.
With the Longhorns, Brown achieved probably the most success of his teaching profession. He helped the varsity win at the least 10 video games for 9 straight seasons, together with the 2005 marketing campaign, when Texas completed with a 13-0 report and gained that season’s Nationwide Championship.
Fortunately, North Carolina is already bowl-eligible this yr, so the varsity’s season seemingly will not be over if it loses to a 5-6 North Carolina State workforce on Saturday.
However this weekend’s matchup can also be one the Tar Heels ought to have the ability to win. Suppose North Carolina one way or the other finally ends up on the shedding aspect of the scoreboard after Saturday’s sport, although. May the varsity finish its relationship with Brown sooner than he anticipates?