The North Carolina Tar Heels made the necessary decision to fire head football coach Mack Brown during Thanksgiving Week, putting an end to their winningest head coach in program history.
UNC has already started searching for the next head coach – and appears to have several named lined up already, including former player and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The question now is: when will North Carolina make a hire?
Before the Tar Heels commit to anyone, there’s one more head coach who USA TODAY Sports think would be the perfect fit in Chapel Hill: Dan Mullen.
If you recognize Mullen’s name, he was the most successful coach in Mississippi State history. Mullen also coached at Florida, before being fired midway through 2021.
“It would have to be the right head coaching opportunity for me and my family,” Mullen recently told SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum. “When you coach, you’re all in. It’s life-consuming.”
Mullen led Mississippi State, now the laughingstock of SEC football, to eight straight bowl games and a Number One ranking in the 2014 college football season. Mullen’s first three Florida teams finished ranked (seventh/sixth in 2018 and 2019).
Mullen is still heavily involved in football, acting as a color commentator for ABC and ESPN. If Mullen wants to get back into coaching, his expertise could be just what the Tar Heels need to turn themselves into ACC contenders.
Despite all Brown’s success, his 2022-2024 seasons at UNC came with plenty of questions about his coaching abilities. North Carolina roared out to a 9-1 start in 2022, before losing its final four games. The 2023 Tar Heels started 6-0 and rose to 10th in the AP Poll, then ended the year 8-5.
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