Mack Brown is entering the fifth year of his second stint at North Carolina as he made the return to try and rebuild up the program from really bad 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Brown has led the Tar Heels to a bowl game in each of his four seasons but the program is just 1-3 in those games. They are coming off a 2022 season in which they started 9-1 but finished the year 9-5 with a loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl. While Brown and the Tar Heels have shown promise, led by quarterback Drake Maye, the Tar Heels are hoping to get on track in 2023.
Going into this season, CBS Sports is ranking the top 25 power five coaches in all of college football. For Mack Brown, he checked in at No. 22 which is down two spots from last year’s ranking:
I have a hard time figuring out what to do with Brown. He deserves respect for winning a national title at Texas, and while the end there wasn’t great, things have only gotten worse since he left. That said, I don’t know if I’m all that impressed by his second stint with the Tar Heels. His struggles to find a defensive coordinator have put a ceiling on what his UNC teams have been able to accomplish.
Among ACC coaches, Brown is fourth on the list behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (No. 3), Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson (No. 15) and Florida State’s Mike Norvell (No. 19).
Dave Doeren of NC State rounded out the list at No. 25.