Mack Brown wanted to stay.
North Carolina had other plans.
Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham told Brown on Monday he would not return for the 2025 season despite having three years left on his contract, the school announced.
Brown will coach the team’s regular-season finale Saturday against rival North Carolina State but its undecided if he would coach in a bowl game.
“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. “I’ve spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships (wife) 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 and I hope our fans will show up Saturday to do the same.”
Brown, 73, is in his sixth year of his second stint leading the Tar Heels after previously guiding the program from 1988-97.
The Tar Heels are 6-5 this year and just 44-32 over these past six seasons, and have lost at least five games in four straight seasons.
Several uncompetitive losses this season put Brown under the spotlight, including a 70-50 loss to James Madison after which Brown said he told his players he would walk away if he couldn’t fix these issues.
The school’s announcement came one day after Brown said he intended to return and he seemed miffed that reporters broached the topic.
“You never talk to your athletic director until the year’s over. Everybody always does that. My total focus is on NC State,” Brown said, per ESPN. “What an awful thing to be talking about me when we just played a bad game and need to beat State.”
Brown enters Saturday’s game with a 113-78-1 record with North Carolina and a 282-149-1 career record that also includes stints with Texas and Tulane.
He won his lone national title during the 2005 season with the Longhorns.
“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,” Cunningham said in a release. “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.
“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.”
