UNC’s Mack Brown closes coaching tenure with rivalry loss, disappointment over handling of exit

By AARON BEARD The Associated Press

North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren, right, talks with North Carolina head coach Mack Brown, left, after an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Chris Seward]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Mack Brown closed his North Carolina coaching tenure with a loss to rival N.C. State. That came days after the school announced the program’s winningest coach wouldn’t return next season. The 73-year-old Brown was in the sixth season of his second tenure with the Tar Heels. Brown said he didn’t want to become a distraction to the players by announcing a coaching change leading up to the game against the Wolfpack. But Brown said he agreed it was time for the program to have new leadership and said: “I‘m not angry. I think it’s time to go.”