Mack Brown’s remarkable 16-year career with the Texas Longhorns came to an end in 2013. After being fired as head coach of North Carolina on Tuesday, Brown will not serve more than 16 seasons in Chapel Hill.
Brown, who led the Longhorns to nine 10-win seasons and the 2005 national championship, previously commanded North Carolina from 1988 to 1997 before returning to the Tar Heels in 2019. Brown’s second spell yielded mixed results. He finished 44-32, went 1-4 in bowl games, and never had a 10-win season. He is leaving Chapel Hill after 35 years as an NCAA head coach, though he will continue with the program for one more game this season.
“While this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out, no time will ever be the perfect time,” Brown said in a statement Monday. “I’ve spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships Sally and I have built while serving as head coach.
“We’ve had the chance to coach and mentor some great young men, and we’ll miss having the opportunity to do that in the future. Moving forward, my total focus is on helping these players and coaches prepare for Saturday’s game against N.C. State and give them the best chance to win. We want to send these seniors out right and I hope our fans will show up Saturday to do the same.”
Brown didn’t receive a hero’s ending in Austin or Chapel Hill. There is still plenty of love for the 73-year-old in the Lone Star State in particular, and rightfully so. Brown revived a middling Texas program in the late-1990s, then created something of a perennial power in the 21st century. Brown’s Longhorns posted a dazzling 101-16 record from 2001-09. Both Vince Young and Colt McCoy nearly hoisted Heisman Trophy awards under Brown’s tutelage, and Texas’ season ended with a bowl win under Brown 10 times across 16 seasons.
Darrell K. Royal is the de facto godfather of Texas football and the namesake of the Longhorns’ current stadium. Given Texas’ long run of success this century, Brown deserves to be regarded with the same reverence.
