Two days after North Carolina’s 70-50 home loss to James Madison — after which coach Mack Brown reportedly told players he would “walk away and step down if he was the problem” — Brown told reporters he was “disappointed in me” both for UNC’s performance on Saturday and the way he handled the loss.
“I don’t handle things well after losses,” Brown said. “As I was walking off the field, I thought, ‘I’m responsible for all this, it’s on me, so I should ask the players about leadership — if they feel good about me moving forward.’ That’s something I shouldn’t do; I shouldn’t put that pressure on those young people at that point. I’m supposed to be a leader.”
Brown’s postgame comments in UNC’s locker room were first reported by 247Sports creating speculation that the 73-year-old might retire imminently. But sources close to the program told The Athletic that Brown will remain the program’s coach through the rest of the 2024 season.
As for his postgame comments to players, Brown said on Monday that “things used to stay in the locker room,” but he reiterated that he is “excited about the future” of the program.
“I love my job, I love these kids, I love this place, and that’s why I hate losing so much,” Brown said.
Brown is in the sixth season of his second tenure coaching the Tar Heels — he led the program from 1988-1997, before leaving for Texas — and has gone 41-28 since returning to Chapel Hill in 2019. After signing a one-year contract extension in February 2023, Brown is tied to the program through the 2027 season.
James Madison’s 70 points on Saturday tied for the most UNC has ever allowed in a game (East Carolina, 2014). The Dukes’ 53 first-half points were the most the Tar Heels have ever allowed in one half, the most points JMU has ever scored in a half and the most points a Group of 5 team had scored vs. a Power 4 opponent in one half since 2012, according to TruMedia.
“Embarrassing day. Shocking day. You shouldn’t be at North Carolina and lose to a Group of Five team, period,” Brown told reporters after the game. “There are no excuses.”
North Carolina entered Saturday 3-0 as the program sought its fifth winning season since Brown’s return. Despite opening as a preseason Top 25 team in three seasons and reaching as highly ranked as No. 5 in 2020, the Tar Heels have finished a season in the Top 25 once under Brown in this second stint.
Brown’s return to North Carolina came nearly five years after he resigned from Texas following a 16-year run in Austin, a stint during which he led the Longhorns to the 2005 national title and won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award. In 2018, 10 months before being hired at North Carolina, Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
UNC plays on Saturday at Duke.
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
