UNC firing head football coach Mack Brown was a long-awaited move

November 23, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown looks on during the second half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

When Mack Brown returned to coach the North Carolina Tar Heels before the 2019 college football season, I was encouraged and excited.

Now, with only the NC State game remaining in UNC’s 2024 season, my feelings — and those of many UNC fans — have changed a lot about Brown.

On Tuesday, November 26, North Carolina made the long-awaited decision to fire Brown. This comes after a tumultuous season for the winningest head coach in Tar Heels program history — three wins to open 2024, followed by four straight losses, three straight wins that helped UNC reach the bowl eligibility and – most recently, an embarrassing loss to Boston College.

Brown struggled to get a sense of his coaching future earlier this season, starting with a 70-50 loss to James Madison in Week 4, during which he informed players of his intention to withdraw. On Monday, November 25, Brown said he plans to coach at North Carolina in 2025.

There’s no chance fan sentiment got Mack fired, but they expressed frustration with his increasingly poor coaching abilities earlier in 2024.

The Tar Heels needed a fresh start after two straight losing seasons to Larry Fedora — and Brown gave them exactly that, leading UNC to a 55-13 domination of Temple in the 2019 Military Bowl.

It was the only bowl game North Carolina won under Brown, despite winning one game in six consecutive seasons. The verdict is still out on whether Brown will coach the Tar Heels this bowl season, but I think they should give that responsibility to their next head coach.

I first began to doubt Brown’s coaching abilities in 2022, when UNC collapsed after a 9-1 start, but maybe that was a fluke. North Carolina started 6-0 in 2023 but, as legend has it, North Carolina finished 8-5 and lost another bowl game.

I am extremely grateful for Brown’s contributions leading the Tar Heels, but it was time for him to go.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Firing UNC head football coach Mack Brown was a long-awaited move