CHAPEL HILL – Mack Brown hears the noise. It’s not all audible, but he still hears it.
Many North Carolina fans, or at least the ones who are most prolific on social media, have taken strong stances on how the Hall of Famer is doing his job in year six of part two.
Some checked out when the Tar Heels went 2-4 down the stretch last season after starting out 6-0 and ranked 10th in the nation. It was a year after a 9-1 start ended with a 9-5 finish.
But what really sent many over the edge in demanding a change in leadership of UNC’s football program was the 70-50 debacle at home to G5 member James Madison. Last Saturday’s blown 20-0 lead in a 21-20 loss at Duke was simply an exclamation mark to many.
And Brown hears them.
“When you lose a game, you give negative people a chance to be really loud, and that’s what they do,” he said Monday at the Kenan Football Center during his weekly press conference. “They become very powerful, and that’s okay.”
UNC’s all-time leader in wins said multiple times Monday it’s okay if fans steer their venom in his direction. He’d rather take it on than his players.
“I told them that the anger is at me and that’s okay,” Brown said. “I got big shoulders and I can handle it, and I get paid for it. They should have their lives, they should have their faith, they should have their school, their girlfriends, and they should try really, really hard to grow up and be strong and learn from all the negativity. That’s part of life.”
Brown’s life at this time is leading a team that’s 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. He has elevated UNC Football considerably from where it was in Larry Fedora’s last two seasons in 2017 and 2018.
Those teams combined to go 5-19 with only two wins over FBS teams, and both were by three points over Pittsburgh. One win was at Old Dominion, which was transitioning to FBS at the time, and two over FCS member Western Carolina. That’s it.
Brown guided UNC to a 7-6 mark in year one, an Orange Bowl appearance in year two, which was the program’s first major bowl in 71 years. A setback 6-7 mark in Sam Howell’s junior season in 2001 was a major disappointment before the last two teams started hot before falling over a cliff.
And now this year’s club, with an escape at Minnesota, a not-so-impressive win over Charlotte, a poorly played win over FCS NC Central, and then the last two dispiriting weeks.
Whether or not the critics have a foundation for their unhappiness is up for debate. But Brown, who is 73 and college football’s active leader in wins with 285, actually says he’s glad some fans are unhappy because it shows they cared.
Fedora was met with apathy, which will end any coach’s tenure. Brown believes if people don’t want to support him, they should at least be there for the players.
“We have great fans. Some are better than others, some are vocal, some are not,” he said. “Usually, the really positive fans don’t say anything. They got back to work. The negative fans wait ‘til something happens. They gripe when you’re winning, they go crazy when you’re losing. That’s their voice.
“So, what we’ve got (last) Saturday, be mad at me. I’m mad at me. I got it. I don’t ever want to lose a game. I’ve been doing this 47 years, so come to the game to support the kids.”
The Tar Heels host unbeaten Pittsburgh (4-0) on Saturday at Kenan Stadium. A noon start, a struggling team, and a contingent of the fanbase regularly voicing displeasure could mean for a sparse turnout.
Brown will notice that just like he knows what’s being said.
“I love the fact that our fans care and they’re disappointed,” he said. “That does not bother me.”
Neither will winning and quieting the critics.
