Regardless of what side of the discussion you stood on, wanting Mack Brown to stay or wanting him to leave, now is a time for everyone to come together and give Brown the send-off he deserves.
The anger and vitriol should have now subsided. The passionate defense of the Hall of Famer is no longer needed. Now is the time for North Carolina fans to unite and stand behind Brown for what is his last game Saturday when the Tar Heels host rival NC State.
No football coach has ever given more to this program than Brown.
No football coach has ever won more than Brown.
No football coach has ever done it more the right way than Brown.
And no football coach has ever believed in what UNC Football can become more than Brown.
Others have endeavored to achieve the highest-end of success on the college football landscape, and a few bumped their heads on the ceiling. One of them left for another school because he wanted another job and better title. Another was fired after his actions helped bring the NCAA to campus launching the darkest, most embarrassing period in UNC athletics history.
Others got fired because they couldn’t get it done.
Brown’s story is unique because he also left for another place 27 years ago and now he’s being shown the door because the administration has lost faith in him being the one.
But he wasn’t anxious to leave in 1997, he was shown a level of disrespect that most of us with his options would have responded the same way. Brown came back, though, and in good faith tried to finish the job he left following a second consecutive top 10 final ranking.
UNC matters to Brown. It’s personal. As upset as he is right now, and as much as he doesn’t agree with how UNC AD Bubba Cunningham handled this, it’s unlikely he will remain bitter toward Carolina.
No football coach has ever sung the virtue of all things Carolina than Brown, and in the manner he went about it, it’s hard to remember a coach who publicly championed the full UNC experience for athletes than him. Yes, Dean Smith did, but messaging was different back then.
And Brown has won. The success on the field in his second stint has been too overshadowed by the struggles. And the ugly spots are unremovable stains, with JMU the biggest, nastiest, and most profound.
That was the beginning of the end. The ship was tipping all offseason after another collapse last year and not getting more out of having the two best QBs in program history. The losses as a double-digit favorite piled up. The defensive meltdowns were so frequent many Carolina fans became numb to them. And Brown just didn’t win enough with the debacle in Chestnut Hill last weekend serving as the go-ahead cue to Cunningham to make this happen now.
And as much as Brown wanted to wait until after the season for Cunningham to render a decision, this actually works best for him. Had Cunningham and Brown agreed to wait until after Saturday, the venom from the stands would have been palpable.
Now, Brown gets to walk onto the Kenan Stadium turf with the full focus of everyone on the task at hand: beating NC State. The fans won’t be screaming for his head because they already have it. Instead, they need to celebrate it.
Brown’s last moments as UNC’s coach should be a celebration for all he has done and stood for. It should be about appreciation and respect for a man who is as loved in the industry as anyone. And it should be the first step toward the next phase of UNC football. Show the next guy what any outsiders would expect: Respect for Mack Brown.
