Reporter reveals potential timeline for hiring next UNC head football coach

Tuesday was a long-awaited day for the UNC football program, as head coach Mack Brown was fired after a tumultuous season.

Here’s the catch, though: Brown will coach North Carolina on Saturday against NC State. The Tar Heels still don’t know if Brown will coach the bowl game, but we do know he won’t return for 2025.

Brown’s firing has a long-term domino effect, starting with rookie disengagement. It also forces UNC to go back to the head coaching drawing board for the first time since 2018, when it fired Larry Fedora after five total wins in two seasons.

The exciting part of Brown’s firing, however, is guessing who North Carolina’s next head coach will be.

According to WRAL sports reporter Pat Welter, the Tar Heels have already made their decision on their next head coach — and it could be announced as soon as Sunday, the day after playing NC State in the regular season finale.

We have our own Coaching Big Board on possible candidates for UNC’s next head coach, but that only includes a handful.

Other names already linked to the North Carolina gig include former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who previously coached the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-23.

The Tar Heels could also roll with Freddie Kitchens, their current tight ends coach. Kitchens is a top pick to promote from within, as he has turned Bryson Nesbit, John Copenhaver and former UNC tight end Kamari Morales into high-level talents.

If Welter’s statement above turns out to be true, I wonder who North Carolina has already decided on. I’m sure the Tar Heels have already been in contact with several candidates.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Reporter Reveals Potential Timeline for Hiring Next UNC Head Football Coach