North Carolina Football fires legendary head coach Mack Brown

The North Carolina football program has decided to fire legendary head coach Mack Brown. The university confirmed the news on Tuesday with an official statement on GoHeels.com that reads in part: "This season will be Mack Brown's last as the University of North Carolina's head football coach."

The university did say that Brown, who has been in his second stint as the Tar Heels' head coach since after the 2018 season, will coach the season finale against N.C. State this weekend. However, it has not been determined whether he will coach his team in their bowl game.

This news comes just hours after Brown said he had no plans to retire after what has been a disappointing season that has seen the Tar Heels go just 6-5 through eleven games. That public statement likely forced the university to take matters into its own hands and fire the 73-year-old.

"Mack Brown has won more games than any football coach in UNC history, and we deeply appreciate all that he has done for Carolina football and our University,'' Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a statement on the UNC Athletics website. "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. 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."

Brown has been in the college coaching game since he was a student assistant at Florida State in 1973. He got his first opportunity to be a head coach at Appalachian State in 1983.

Then, after serving as the offensive coordinator for Oklahoma in 1984, he was hired as Tulane's head coach where he served from 1985-87. In 1988, he got his big break when the Tar Heels brought him on as head coach. He would stay with that program until 1997 winning ten games in three different seasons and leading UNC to six consecutive bowl games from 1992-97.

Brown then made the move to Austin, Texas where he took over a dormant Texas Longhorn program. There, he brought new life to the proud Texas football tradition winning 158 games from 1998-2013. That run included two appearances in the National Championship Game (2005 and 2009) as well as winning the National Championship in 2005 with quarterback Vince Young who helped the Longhorns defeat Reggie Bush and the USC Trojans in what is generally considered the most memorable Rose Bowl of all-time.

Brown stepped down at Texas following the 2013 season as his program failed to maintain its national prominence. But in 2018, he was hired again by the Tar Heels, and in his second term at the helm in Chapel Hill, he led the team to a bowl game in every season.

In all, Brown has a career record of 288-154-1 as a college head coach. That includes a mark of 113-78-1 at North Carolina.

Now, it appears that his legendary career has come to an end. Brown will forever be remembered as one of the most personable and relatable head coaches in the modern era of the sport and it is a shame that he didn't get to go out on his own terms. However, the pressure to win big is greater than ever given the constantly changing landscape of college football and North Carolina has decided that it needs a new leader to take the program into the uncertain future of the sport.