UNC Football: It’s time to start talking about Mack Brown’s future

The world of sports is one that is constantly a victim of the moment; the minute that a team or person is not performing up to par, many within the affected community are itching to sound the alarms.

I, personally, despise this mindset, and I often try to steer away from it whenever I can. However, I just can’t bring myself to do so when it comes to Mack Brown and his future with UNC football.

Since Brown’s return to the Tar Heels, he has only seen two full seasons, which many would argue is not enough for him to develop greatness at what is often viewed as a “basketball school.”

But, when considering the legacy that he has established for himself with his previous coaching accolades, we need to see more than what we have so far.

From 2019-2021, Brown’s team amassed a total record of 21-17, which is horrendously mediocre. In that span, Brown lost multiple games that he shouldn’t have (especially against Florida State) and couldn’t manage to even sniff a divisional title — despite North Carolina playing in what is easily the weaker half of the ACC.

There isn’t even much for Brown to hang his hat on when looking at some of his positive impacts, which mainly apply to his success with recruiting and rivalry games.

What has Brown done well since returning to UNC football?

UNC has been one of the ACC’s better recruiting powers as of late, sitting in third place for the conference’s team rankings for 2021 and second place for 2022. They are also a top-five team in the league when it comes to its current 2023 rankings.

The problem comes in when remembering that aforementioned 21-17 record; it doesn’t matter how well you recruit your talent if you fail to win with it.

As for Brown’s quality of performance in rivalry games since 2019, he is 2-1 against NC State, 2-1 against Wake Forest, and 3-0 against Duke.

To hold a winning record against all three of your in-state rivals is definitely praiseworthy, but there isn’t too much to take away from that when looking at the circumstances surrounding it.

Being 2-1 against both the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons looks great on paper, but to nonetheless be outshined by both of them in regards to national relevance makes it feel less important. And as far as the 3-0 record against Duke is concerned, that’s somewhat expected due to its past few seasons, so don’t expect the keys to any cities over that stat, either.

But enough about all of the previous highs and lows, what is going on with North Carolina’s football program today? What has it accomplished when facing the 2022 competition that it has thus far?

Over the course of this season‘s first several weeks, UNC has done the following: crushed Florida A&M (a task that required the Tar Heels to pull away in the fourth quarter), beat Appalachian State by an inexcusably high score of 63-61, survived a Georgia State team (that is still winless) by a single touchdown, and gotten beat up at home by a Notre Dame squad that had previously lost to Marshall in South Bend.

With all of that in mind, it appears that North Carolina hasn’t only failed to make an impression up to this point, but that it also won’t be able to do so anytime soon.

Mack Brown is a likable coach, and he will be remembered for his past excellence, but he is merely not getting it done at UNC. Especially if the Tar Heels can’t thrive in their atrocious division this year, they should begin their search for a new face to lead their football team — and do so not too long after this season concludes.