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CHAPEL HILL – Mack Brown turns 72 on August 27.

So, a common question by media and many North Carolina fans centers around how much longer he will coach?

It’s fair to wonder and ask of any head coaches out there in their eighth decades. And in many cases, there isn’t a definitive answer when posed. Include Brown in that department.

There is no succession plan, in spite of an erroneous narrative tossed around each season, often fueled by coaches who recruit against the Tar Heels. And there isn’t a date in which Brown has promised his wife, Sally, when he will step aside so they can live out their years in the mountain cottage in Linville or the sunny beaches just north of Wilmington.

No such outlines exist because Brown doesn’t know how long he will coach, and that should relieve those with a rooting interest in the UNC football program.

Brown half-jokes about he once did the coach-in-waiting deal, which didn’t work. That was at Texas when Will Muschamp was waiting in the wings to take over, but Brown said it gave the impression he was about finished with coaching when wasn’t.

So, he won’t do that at UNC, publicly or privately, to avoid that mess. But also because he simply doesn’t know he will step aside. And that’s fine. It’s actually optimal, at least right now.

“Who else will (UNC) get,” one source close to the situation seriously asked, suggesting Carolina couldn’t hire anyone better than Brown at this time. And they are probably right. Look at the years in between his stints as supporting evidence:

In the 21 seasons beginning in 1998, the first after Brown left for Texas, and 2018, Larry Fedora’s final season, UNC won more than eight games just one time. Brown has already passed that mark, and in a different season led UNC to its first major bowl in 71 years.

If he were to move on and UNC hired the next hot up-and-coming star coach, who’s to say he would still be around after a couple of really good seasons? The UNC job isn’t a stepping stone for Brown, nor is it a part-retirement hobby.

He is determined to get the program back to where it was when he left the first time, which was consecutive top-10 final rankings. Actually, Brown wants to take another step and compete for a national championship.

It can happen at UNC, and Brown believes it can happen under his watch, though Carolina must overcome some recent obstacles making the job a tad harder than when he came back. The football collective is about half what it must be for the program to truly compete to keep many of its players from leaving, and to also corral some good ones from the transfer portal. That’s the way things are now.

But Brown truly does believe it can work at Carolina, and he is as determined as ever to see it through. And his age shouldn’t be a detriment. Think about it:

*Nick Saban turns 72 in October, 65 days after Brown does.

*Dusty Baker led the Houston Astros to the World Series title last season at age 73.

*San Antonio Spurs Coach Greg Popovich is 74.

*Jim Larranaga led Miami to the Final Four this year at the age of 73.

*Mike Krzyzewski led Duke to the Final Four in 2022 at the age of 75.

*The President of the United States is 80, and his likely main challenger in the 2024 election is currently 76.

Brown is 30-22 overall and 20-14 in ACC play in his second stint at UNC. He has recruited well, made a series of difficult staffing decisions, and runs a program that has a developed a sustainable foundation. Brown commands respect across the landscape. He is always on national radio and TV programs to discuss his team and issues in the sport.

No disrespect to Fedora, but the only time he generated much attention was when he made some unfortunate comments at ACC media days in 2018. Brown doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes.

In addition, UNC will never find a better ambassador for Carolina football. He is a Hall of Famer for a reason, and he is good for UNC football because it truly matters to him. It’s personal, and that hasn’t always been the case with past football coaches in Chapel Hill, even ones this century.

Age doesn’t matter, performance does. And Brown has Carolina in a solid position. He is the first to admit the program has plenty of room to grow, but he’s about making that happen on a daily basis.

So, if you think it’s time Brown hang it up, spend your energy on something else. He isn’t going anywhere for now.