Mack Brown won’t be back at North Carolina for the 2025 season after all.
A day after Brown said that he intended to return next season, UNC is firing the longtime coach according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
North Carolina is firing Mack Brown, sources tell @YahooSports, as @mzenitz reported.
Brown has spoken out publicly recently that he intended to remain as coach.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 26, 2024
North Carolina is 6-5 ahead of its final game of the season against NC State.
Brown, 73, was one of just three active coaches with a national championship along with Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. The 2024 season was the sixth year of his second stint with the Tar Heels and the team had taken a step back from the past two seasons.
North Carolina lost four straight games after a 3-0 start to the season. The Tar Heels gave up a shocking 70 points to James Madison in a 70-50 loss to start that streak and the fourth loss was a 41-34 defeat to Georgia Tech after the Yellow Jackets scored the go-ahead TD on a 68-yard run with 16 seconds to go.
The Tar Heels are 3-1 since that four-game losing streak, but lost 41-21 at Boston College in Week 13. The Eagles rushed 52 times for 228 yards and three scores in the win while North Carolina only mustered 36 yards on 25 attempts thanks to seven sacks of QB Jacolby Criswell.