While the transfer portal closes December 28 and the dead period for players visiting schools hit at midnight Sunday, taking a breath and looking back at the last few weeks of North Carolina is a monumental task.
The change has been dramatic, somewhat earth-shattering, and without precedent.
The new era for North Carolina football technically isn’t two weeks old yet, but the shifts in course began well before that.
So, as everyone exhales some, let’s look back at a loose timeline for how the seismic shift of UNC football has taken place:
*September 21: James Madison 70, UNC 50.
The line of demarcation for the Mack Brown part two era at UNC took place that afternoon at Kenan Stadium. A pitiful display by the Tar Heels that afternoon brought on national embarrassment. No matter what the Heels did after that, they were saddled with that game hanging over like an albatross, and it was deserved.
*September 21: Later that night:
Whatever Brown specifically said to his team in the locker room after the game has bene somewhat up for debate. Our sources have told us he said that if he isn’t the right man for the job “then I will quit.” Some reports suggest he flat out told the team he was quitting.
What’s important here is that parsing those words really isn’t necessary, it’s that anything of the sort came from Brown was highly concerning. Multiple sources on the Board of Trustees told THI that it was “unfair” Brown “put the kids in that situation.” Even some of his most ardent supporters view that day as the point of no return. How the game played out how Brown handled the postgame
*September 21: No players in postgame.
Making matters worse is that no players were allowed to speak with the media following the loss. A program under Brown that prided itself on being open and giving access was coiling up, and when that happens, only negatives vibes are sent.
*September 28: 20-0…
A credit to Brown and the staff for not losing the players with the JMU fallout. They led Duke 20-0 midway through the third quarter – but lost 21-20. If there was still a sliver of support for Brown, it left that day.
*Mid-November: Surprising Interest
Even though the Tar Heels were in the midst of a three-game win streak, many noteworthy influencers around Chapel Hill had long ago come to the conclusion as change was needed atop the football program. Observers from well outside UNC could see it, too.
So, coaches with an eye on Carolina knew this as well, including NFL legend Bill Belichick, who had someone reach out to UNC letting the school know if a change was made, he’d be interested in the job.
*November 23: Bloodbath at BC
Riding a three-game win streak, the Tar Heels traveled to Boston College to face a so-so Eagles team. But when this scribe walked from the parking deck to Alumni Stadium, and with the temperature around 42 degrees with light rain falling sideways with some wind, it seemed inevitable the Tar Heels would not be ready for the noon start. They weren’t.
In the worst overall performance of the Brown part two era, Carolina was humiliated by BC. The final score was 41-21, but it was 41-7 with 5:50 remaining in the game with the total yardage difference BC 412, UNC 103, and at that point, the Tar Heels were 0-for-10 on third downs.
UNC AD Bubba Cunningham was at the game.
*November 24: Cunningham flies to Hawaii
The basketball Tar Heels played four games in Hawaii in a six-day span. Cunningham flew to Maui for the team’s three-game appearance in that event. The total flight time was about 12 hours, so he had a lot of time to think and speak with people. Going from what he saw in Chestnut Hill to Maui, Cunningham decided what needed to happen.
*November 25: Morning presser
Inaccurate reports surfaced a few days before the BC game that Brown was going around telling players he would be back next season. That simply was not true. But, because of the “reports,” we in the media had to ask Brown about his future during the weekly presser that Monday in advance of the Tar Heels’ rivalry game against NC State for that Saturday.
Brown reiterated his plan was to be back. We asked if he had any conversations with players about being back next year, and Brown said he had no spoken to one player about it.
Cunningham watched the press conference knowing he planned on having a discussion with Brown after the NC State, sources told THI. Brown’s presser sped up Cunningham’s timeline for that conversation.
*November 25: You’re fired!
Although 5,000 miles away in Maui, Cunningham had multiple conversations with Brown after the Hall of Fame coach’s weekly press conference when he was clear he would be back for the 2025 season.
Cunningham told Brown a change had to be made but wanted Brown to go out properly, so he was asked to announce Friday he was retiring. Brown didn’t think it was fair to drop that on the players the day before their rivalry game, so he refused.
They talked back and forth about it, and ultimately, according to multiple sources with extensive knowledge of the process, when Brown dug in and would not comply with Cunningham’s request, he said something to the effect that he wasn’t going to, so “fire me.” And Cunningham did.
*November 26: Brown tells the team.
In what must have been the second hardest thing he told his team all season, and perhaps for his entire career, Brown told the players following their practice Tuesday morning he had been fired. He would coach the NC State game, but likely not the bowl game.
The players were stunned, and soon word got out. Three sources close to the situation confirmed to THI that Brown had indeed been fired.
*November 26: A new approach to football
THI had multiple conversations with sources with significant knowledge of how the school would change its approach to football. We were told the desire to “earthquake the landscape” was strong, which meant shaking up the culture within the Kenan Football Center. It meant spending a lot more money on staff and players.
We learned that the Rams Club had all scholarships taken care of for the foreseeable future and the school already had the $20.5 million in revenue sharing for athletes. And with the great work Brown did in renovating the football center and getting other things taken care of, which is something he deserves much more credit for than he’s received, it meant Carolina could focus on compiling enough cash to completely revamp its approach to football.
*November 27: The initial names
The three early names on the UNC watch list were Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith, a former Tar Heel offensive lineman and head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
In addition, Tulane Coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia Defensive Coordinator Glenn Shumann were names confirmed as of interest by UNC, so we ran a piece but only with those three names. Some other names were reported elsewhere, but unless we ran them, we never had them confirmed.
*November 28: Arthur Smith wasn’t coming
Smith, whose father, Fred Smith, founded FedEx and is worth nearly $8 billion, declined interest in the position. Speculation was rampant the cash his father could provide the program would be a game changer, only that it never materialized.
November 30: Brown’s swan song
NC State 35, UNC 30. That was the final score in Brown’s final game, dropping the Tar Heels to 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.
After the game, Brown addressed the media and throng of athletic department and university officials, several members of the Board of Trustees, and some boosters. He bounced around with his 15 minutes and final words as UNC’s head coach. He took some swipes at various people, only referring to Cunningham as “Athletic Director Cunningham,” never saying his first name.
Sidebar: We had reported in the early fall about a rift between Brown and Cunningham, which by the time Brown spoke following the NC State game, had become much more than just a rift.
Among the items Brown laid out was so controversial that even his staunch supporters were turned off, and one even told THI, “It showed he had lost touch of the fullness of the program.” Brown said, “I think the administration’s into finding a football coach, and I’m into saving lives.”
Quiet speculation is Brown was referring to former Tar Heel defensive end Jake Lawler, who was open about his suicidal thoughts and how Brown helped him through it to where Lawler has a successful career in Hollywood.
Brown completed his statement saying he would not answer questions. So, with that he walked off.
December 2: Really?
For the first time, Bill Belichick’s name was being bandied about in various social media circles. And when THI talked with multiple sources with significant knowledge of the process, asking about the seriousness of Belichik’s candidacy was met with laughter, with two sources calling it a “courtesy” to the members of the BOT who really wanted him hired.
December 3: A zoom call
We learned Tuesday of that week that Belichick had a zoom call with the search committee and some other members of the BOT were either on the call or had access to a recording of it afterward. Since we heard a variety of explanations about this, we chose to not report it because it didn’t confirm anything.
Other candidates also had zoom calls that week with the Carolina brass.
December 5: Meeting in NYC
Although we didn’t get it confirmed for another day or so, Belichick met with Cunningham and Chancellor Lee Roberts in New York City that Thursday. This was three days after the zoom, and when it was confirmed, UNC had reached a level of serious interest with the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach.
December 6: Afternoon confirmation
The idea of Belichick being UNC’s next head coach was still thought of as a joke to many people, including media, but that Friday afternoon was when our reporting started to change. Multiple sources confirmed the NYC meeting and the high degree of interest. We also learned the process in offering Belichick the job was much further along than anticipated, even when mutual interest was confirmed.
December 8: Lawyers get involved
We reported late Sunday morning that negotiations at finalizing a deal were underway. We were told his attorneys were “going over things line by line.” We prepared a hiring story and podcast that day. By 11:30 Am that day, we were on high alert of breaking news coming at any time.
December 9: The Pat McAfee Show
Belichick still makes a weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN every Monday afternoon. He didn’t miss the spot that week, and acknowledged to McAfee he and UNC had enjoyed multiple conversations and said he talked a lot with Roberts.
Belichick briefly laid out a synopsis of his plan for a college football program. The appearance was received so well that a once-split UNC fan base was almost 100% on board with the 72-year-old getting the job.
We were still on high alert, but nothing happened that day.
December 10: “It’s going to happen”
While our sources went dark from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday morning, a few noteworthy ones started talking again by late morning. The consensus was Belichick would be named UNC’s coach at any time.
Some uncertainty or unwillingness, or both, to offer too many details about where both parties were in the process meant that while we posted on our boards that we thought it was going to happen, it hadn’t yet.
December 11: You’re hired!
Early reports that Wednesday morning suggested Belichick had been hired, but they were premature. Also, other outlets reported the BOT was being convened to vote on it, we reported that was not true, that no meeting had been called and the negotiations hadn’t reached the stage of formality yet.
Other fallacies reported that we refuted: the 400-page manifesto; Belichick’s son, Steve, as head coach in waiting.
We made sure our readers knew neither was true, and our intel was 100% spot on again. But it was getting close.
Four days of lawyers combing over details of working out the contract ended when Belichick finally agreed in the early evening to take the job. We were not the first to report it, but we were the first media outlet to have a story running that Belichick had indeed been hired.
December 12: Welcome aboard
Belichick was introduced as North Carolina’s new football coach at a press conference inside the Blue Zone at Kenan Stadium that Thursday afternoon. He took questions from the media, some details of the contract were released by the school,
Belichick announced he hired Michael Lombardi as the new general manager of the program and that tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens would be on the staff, too.
December 14: Halftime speech
Halftime of the basketball Tar Heels’ game against LaSalle offered UNC fans a treat: Bill Belichick. He addressed the crowd at halftime and even introduced his first recruit, 4-star QB Bryce Baker, who committed to UNC in the summer of 2023 but visited Penn State after Brown was fired. Baker even addressed the crowd.
It was a power play by Belichick and was one more signal that football will be different in Chapel Hill moving forward.
December 22: Steve Belichick
While Belichick didn’t negotiate anything for his son, Steve, it was expected he would join his father’s staff. He coached under his dad with the New England Patriots for 12 seasons and was a part of three Super Bowl champions. He spent this season as the defensive coordinator at Washington improving the Huskies overall defensive ranking move from No. 99 in 2023 when the Huskies played for the national championship, to No. 26 this season.
So, reports surfaced, that we later got confirmed, the dad had indeed hired the son.
December 23: And here we are
The dead period is now underway for players in the transfer portal, which closes December 28. As of this writing, UNC had gained 10 commitments from the portal while still having 10 former Tar Heels in the portal, five of whom had signed with new schools.
It has been 29 days since Brown was fired. The new coach makes twice as much money ($10 million), his staff will make around twice as much, UNC is suddenly in position to spend more than most programs on players, Carolina is developing a bit of an “It School” aura, and the program has gained millions of dollars of free advertising with this hiring and his interviews and discussion everywhere in national sports news.
