By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Monday that he would know when it was time to leave the Tar Heels program to someone else.

UNC made the decision for him Tuesday.

The university announced Tuesday morning that Brown, the program’s all-time leader in coaching wins, would not return for the 2025 season, firing Brown with three years left on his contract.

Brown, 73, will coach the team’s regular-season finale against NC State, but his status for a bowl game has not been decided. Brown said Monday that he intended to return for next season.

“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 in a statement Tuesday morning. “I’ve spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships 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.

“Moving forward, my total focus is on helping these players and coaches prepare for Saturday’s game against N.C. State and give them the best chance to win. We want to send these seniors out right and I hope our fans will show up Saturday to do the same.”

UNC is 6-5 this season, including an embarrassing 70-50 home loss to James Madison and a 21-20 loss to Duke. The Tar Heels won three in a row to reach bowl eligibility, but were beaten soundly by Boston College last week. After the loss to James Madison, Brown made comments in the locker room that some interpreted as him quitting.

“I wasn’t walking in to quit, I was walking in to say ‘Hey, we stunk. If this isn’t working, tell me and I’ll get out of here,'” Brown explained days later. “That’s what my purpose was. It didn’t turn out well.”

The death of wide receiver Tylee Craft after a long battle with cancer rocked the team and Brown.

Brown is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and led the Tar Heels to bowl games in each of his six seasons since returning to Chapel Hill. Brown has three years left on his contract.

“We deeply appreciate all that he has done for Carolina Football and our University,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement Tuesday morning.

He informed Brown of his decision Monday.

“Over the last six seasons – his second campaign in Chapel Hill – he has coached our team to six bowl berths, including an Orange Bowl, while mentoring 18 NFL draft picks,” Cunningham said. “He and his wife Sally have done an outstanding job supporting the Carolina community, including raising funds for UNC Children’s Hospital while hosting other popular events such as the Ladies Day Clinic. Both also have been terrific in leading our program during some incredibly tough stretches, including the tragic passing of wide receiver Tylee Craft this season.

“Coach Brown has led the Carolina Football program back into the national conversation as we improved the program’s facilities, significantly increased the size of the staff, invested in salaries and bolstered our nutrition and strength and conditioning programs. He also has been a dedicated fundraiser, strengthening the Football endowment while also supporting our other sports programs.

“We thank Coach Brown for his dedication to Carolina, and wish him, Sally and their family all the best.”

In 2022, Brown agreed to a contract extension that ran through the 2027 season. He made $4.9 million annually and had the opportunity to earn performance bonuses for on-field and academic success. The university said Brown would be paid the remainder of his contract through the athletic department and not state funds. Brown will be paid his base salary of $900,000, according to terms of the contract.

Brown was asked about his status Monday after a CBS Sports report that had informed team personnel that he planned to return in 2025.

“I’m going to do it as long as I’m happy, as long as I’m healthy and as long as I’m effective,” Brown said Monday when asked what he tells recruits. “I’m not going to think about retiring. I’m not going to talk about retiring. Hadn’t changed that for six years.”

He added: “They’ll be a morning when I get up and I say, ‘You know what? Somebody else should be leading this team. They’re better than I am at this point.’ And then I’ll go do something else. But I got way too much to do to be worried about next week. I’m trying to beat NC State.”

Brown is 288-154-1 in 36 years as a college head coach, a career that started at App State in 1983. Brown left to be Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator the next year and then was Tulane’s head coach from 19857 to 1987.

Brown coached North Carolina from 1988 to 1997, turning the Tar Heels into a top-10 program by the end of his tenure, elevating the Tar Heels into a recruiting giant and challenging Florida State (though never besting the Seminoles) for ACC supremacy in his final years.

He left for Texas, where Brown won a national championship in 2005 and lost in the national title game in 2009. He coached at Texas from 1998 to 2013 and went into broadcasting. Brown returned to North Carolina in 2019 and brought in several high-ranking recruiting classes, including NFL quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye.

Brown’s second stint at UNC brought some highlights. The Tar Heels reached the Orange Bowl in COVID-impacted 2020 season. They started the 2022 season 9-1 and climbed to No. 13 in the AP poll before losing their final four games. Last season, UNC started 6-0 and reached No. 10 in the AP poll before upset losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels finished the season 8-5 with three consecutive losses to end the season.

Cunningham and Chancellor Lee Roberts, who was hired on a permanent basis in August, will begin the search for the program’s next head coach.

“What a career,” NC State coach Dave Doeren told media after practice Tuesday. “Nothing but respect for Coach Brown. I’ve known him since I was a young assistant coach. He’s done things the right way. He’s worked hard in this profession. He’s helped a lot of coaches. I have a lot of respect for him.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com