Mack Brown will turn 69 in August, which puts him in the age group doctors say are most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. But the North Carolina coach isn’t letting that get in the way of leading his football team’s return to Chapel Hill as the 2020 season nears.

The players and coaches departed in mid-March when the university closed its doors due to the pandemic that has spanned the globe, but with the players beginning their staggered return later this week, the coaches are also moving back into the Kenan Football Center.

And for Brown, following protocol is a mandate he accepts and will enforce as the Tar Heels begin getting back to some kind of norm.

“I've been careful, I've been smart,” the UNC coach said. “(Wife) Sally (Brown) and I have been very careful where we go. We wipe down all the surfaces, we wash our hands, I've washed my hands so many times they're wrinkled. I've never used lotion on my hands. I'm gonna have to start and, and we use the sanitizer every day…

“So, I have absolutely no question about coming back, I'm excited about it.”

Brown has met with local media via Zoom three times since the shutdown began in addition to doing numerous radio and television interviews, and nearly each time has noted his natural instinct as an affectionate person. Shaking hands, hugging, putting his arm around people are the norm for Brown, but given current circumstances, perhaps those days are over. At least for now.

“All that's going to have to change,” he said. “I was walking (recently) and a teenager, stopped and said, ‘Coach, can I have a picture?' I put my mask on and I said, ‘you don't want a picture with your mask on.’ So we took a social distancing selfie.

“So, life's changed and it's different and we're going to have to embrace the difference.”

The players will return in four phases, beginning June 12. The coaching staff formally returns that day as well. Non-essential employees in the Kenan Football Center will still work from home for the time being.

With the team returning, social distancing protocols have been put in place and will be administered. Some position group meeting rooms have been reconfigured to accommodate new requirements and everyone (coaches included) must wear a mask when meandering about the facility and in team meetings. Everyone entering the football center will have their temperature taken, as all courtesies generally ascribed across the spectrum will be adhered to.

“So are we starting back to work? Yes,” Brown said. “Is this all about football? No, it's still on us, on our medical staff to know that we're keeping our staff and our players safe. And at the same time we will phase their workouts back in and then hopefully we'll have everybody on campus by July 1st and they will have a great month of July to work and eat and prepare to start practice.”

Brown, who has lost 25 pounds since the pandemic hit, sees this time as perhaps the most challenging and important of his Hall of Fame career.

“My leadership has never been more important than it is right now,” he said.

And for that Brown is leading the way by setting the example everyone else in the program will follow.