The Jury is Still Out on UNC Head Coach Mack Brown’s 2nd Tenure

It’s no secret that UNC-Chapel Hill hired football head coach Mack Brown to revitalize its program.

To resuscitate its combined 5-18 records from its 2017-18 seasons.

To reinvigorate its sorry 90th-ranked total defense and offense from the previous campaign.

And it worked… to some extent.

With Brown landing four-star quarterback Sam Howell in 2019, the program became the talk of the ACC, posting more wins that year than its previous two seasons combined. 

Flying with air under his wings in 2020, Brown recruited North Carolina’s first five-star recruits since 2009’s Donte Moss — cornerback Tony Grimes and defensive end Desmond Evans — along with four-star players quarterback Jacolby Criswell and wide receiver Josh Downes. 

Armed with these recruits, Howell, running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams and wide receiver Dazz Newsome soon rose to a top ten offensive force in the country, stunning the college football sphere by going 8-4 on the season and giving teams like Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech a run for their money.

Going into 2021, Howell was a Heisman contender and North Carolina was ranked No. 10 by the Preseason AP Top 25. Brown’s recruiting secured defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver, linebacker Power Echols and even stole quarterback Drake Maye from Alabama. The media coddled the team during its preseason efforts, broadcasting its season opener against Virginia Tech on ESPN.

Then the Tar Heel hype train came to a halt.

Brown, who had not lost a season opener yet with the Tar Heels, fell to Braxton Burmeister and the Hokies in an defensive barnburner 10-17 loss — North Carolina’s least amount of points posted since its 2018 10-47 loss to Miami. The shortcomings of that contest were just a preview of the team’s woes for the rest of 2021: quarterback sacks, running play containment and lack of experience.

The team danced around a losing record the entire season, barely earning a berth at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in the postseason with just a 6-6 record. That 38-21 loss, of course, was the nail in the coffin to seal a losing season for North Carolina.

With the 2022 season opener just two months away, UNC football is now faced with changes that may make or break its already fragile program. As Howell is now training with the Washington Commanders for his NFL rookie season, Maye and Criswell are battling it out in the preseason for his starting spot. In the #TyleeStrong Spring Game, the two demonstrated balanced performances, Maye scoring two passing touchdowns and going 9 of 12 completed passes for 113 yards, as Criswell scored one touchdown and completed all six of his pass attempts for 104 yards. In April, Brown was open to utilizing both weapons interchangeably in the fall, and has noted being pleased with the level of challenge that the two present to one another. 

UNC will also see significant changes in its offensive and defensive line, with five-star Zach Rice at offensive tackle, transfer Lejond Cavazos at cornerback and five-star Travis Shaw and Ohio State transfer Jacolbe Cowan on the defensive line. Ranked No. 11 by 247 Sports, the Tar Heel recruiting class also adds depth with pass rushers Malaki Hamrick and Beau Atkinson, linebacker Sebastian Cheeks and running back George Pettaway. 

But the most significant change for the program, which will set it apart from its lackluster 2021 season, is the new coaching hires: Gene Chizik and Charlton Warren. Chizik was Brown’s defensive coordinator in 2005 when the Longhorns won the national championship, and Warren transformed the Tar Heel defense in 2015-16 before heading to Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Indiana. Together, the two bring over 40 years of coaching experience with 14 different college teams and look to renew UNC’s No. 94 ranked defense.

With Mack Brown’s contract extending only until 2026, the Tar Heels have limited time with his recruiting ability to bolster its roster and coaching staff and make UNC competitive not just in the ACC, but with SEC competitors. 

And with these changes within the program, coupled with a manageable schedule, UNC football has the opportunity to fly under the radar and rebuild itself to the level of hype that it received last season.