UNC head football coach Mack Brown has done plenty since re-taking the reins from Larry Fedora back in 2019 – four straight bowl appearances, several Top 25 rankings and a Coastal Division title last season.
It’s no surprise that because of this success, Brown found himself – again – on a rankings list of his own.
Brown ranked 22nd on CBS Sports’ Top 25 Power Five College Football Coaches’ list entering the upcoming 2023 season, a drop of two spots from 20 last year.
Here’s what CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli wrote
“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.” 2022 rank: 20 (-2)
If Brown can lead his team to another hot start this upcoming season, cement it with a bowl win and possibly an ACC championship, he’ll likely climb further up the list. Carolina starts its quest for a second straight Coastal Division title on Saturday, Sept. 2, as it takes on rival University of South Carolina at 7:30 p.m. inside Bank of America Stadium.
Brown has one of the best quarterbacks in the country returning in Drake Maye, a trio of solid running backs led by Elijah Green, plus a great 1-2 tight end punch in Bryson Nesbit and Kamari Morales.
The Heels bursted out of the gates at 9-1 last year, locking up a spot in the ACC Championship for a date against eventual champion Clemson. Things looked up – Carolina ranked themselves several times.
After Carolina’s 36-34 win at Wake Forest, however, no one saw what came next. The Heels lost four straight – one to a struggling Georgia Tech squad and a 2-overtime thriller against in-state rival N.C. State, both at home, a 39-10 whooping against Clemson in the ACC Championship, then a 1-point defeat against Oregon in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, bring their bowl record to 3-7 in their last 10 appearances.
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