More From Mack: Searching, Upgrades, Gray & Gaynor
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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina coach Mack Brown met with the media Tuesday after his team’s first practice of the spring.
Brown discussed how he identifies coaching replacements, the leadership of Corey Gaynor and Cedric Gray, UNC’s new facilities, and much more.
Tuesday afternoon, we ran part one of our coverage from Brown’s presser, and here is part two. Here are some notes and pulled quotes from some thing Brown discussed, and video of his pressser is at the bottom of this piece.
*Offensive line coach Stacy Searels informed Brown Sunday evening, less than two days before the start of spring practice, he was departing Chapel Hill for the same position at Georgia. Brown knows it's essential to bring in a new coach as quickly as possible to take advantage of the 15 practices allotted to the program for spring ball.
Unfortunately, replacing coaches is a reality that football programs face every year. With more than 30 years of experience, this reality is something Brown doesn't like, but he has so many connections in the coaching world that he is always prepared when one of his coaches decides to pursue other opportunities.
"I update it daily,” Brown said about keeping a list of potential coaching candidates. “If you are sitting there in the fall, and you got a defensive coordinator name on the list, and you're watching his team play before your game in the afternoon. If somebody is scoring 70 points, I will call (Assistant AD, GM) Pat Suddes because he keeps the list and updates it. I would call him and say, 'take that guy off.' We are not going to hire him he can't stop anybody.
"I was able to start that list when I was in TV. I got to see who I thought did a good job. It's one of the reasons I hired Jay (Bateman) and Phil (Longo) because they were taking less and doing more with it. Gene was an obvious first call because of my experience with him. I would have hired Gene here three years ago, but it wasn't the right timing for him. So, when that job came open, he was my first thought. He was ready, and he wanted to do it.
“He was on top of my list, and he has been at the top of my list. I just keep him there. And if he wasn't then, we would move on. There is a reason they are all on the list, and they are prioritized. If he is not a good recruiter in this area, that might drop him down a little bit. But if you have great recruiters on defense and he doesn't have to recruit as much, maybe that would bring him back up. I even ask the coaches sometimes, which they hate. I'll go in to like a Lonnie Galloway and say, 'Give me the ten guys in order one through ten who would replace you the best if you leave.
“They just hate it. I can't get that done much because they don't like talking about who is going to replace them. I guess it would kind of be like talking to your wife about if she died who you would marry, and that would not go well.
“I get excited about coaches. I love to watch coaches. It keeps me intrigued by other things people are doing. Our offense is so unique and so different that you can't just take an offensive coach and plug him in... The thing about the list that's fun is it's fluid. A guy may take a job. If one of the top guys on your list takes a pro job and you may not be able to pay him, you keep his name on the list, but you move it down to the bottom with a question mark because he may no longer be in play.
“But I do feel like you need to move quickly. I've told our coaches when they go interview for a job, if they go interview for a job, then I am interviewing for a job. I'm going to call somebody. It's just like dating. If you are going to date, then I am going to date. I do not want our fans or our players or our coaching staff to have to wait and be in a position where you don't have a coach.
“The other thing with people tampering and recruiting people off your teams, you need to move quickly and make sure someone doesn't leave your team because when the coach leaves, everybody is going to start recruiting those players. That makes the urgency a little bit more important too.
“I've told the players one of the great things about my experiences is I know a lot of great coaches and if we lose a coach, we are going to hire a great one. Don't ever worry about losing your coach. We just get new ideas with a new brand. I have also told them I try to hire coaches I would want to coach my son. I'm not going to bring in a coach that's a bad guy.
“So, the players and parents don't have to worry about the type of person I bring in. I want them to be aggressive and disciplined. But I want them positive. And we are not going to grab those young people, and we aren't going to curse them that's just who we are.”
*When Brown returned to UNC for his second stint as coach, a $5 million facility renovation took place immediately. But Brown isn't stopping there. With all the bells and whistles that come with college football and recruiting, he knows the importance of keeping up appearances of the football facilities. It was recently announced that UNC would begin phase one of the Kennan Football Center expansion which includes a new training room.
"The sports medicine facility has been approved, and if you come to the front of Kenan, it's already started," Brown said. "And that's going to be a great training room to the left of the Hall of Honor when you first walk in, and it's going to triple the space of our current training room. Also, we're going to have a players' lounge which will be redone. There'll be an outside area where the guys will have some fire pits and can play a little basketball, so it's really going to be a nice complex for phase one.
“The training room includes a hydrotherapy room, hot and cold plunge pools, underwater treadmill, it's got all new equipment. It's 4,800 square feet of roof and courtyard, flowing into the players' lounge will be the outside area that's going to be fun for them. But the new training room's the most important thing because ours currently is very undersized.
“When we built this building back in the late '90s, team sizes weren't as big, and I'm sure staff sizes weren't as big, and we have a real, real need not only for a new training room but an updated training room. And that's going to help prevention and get faster recovery. The existing training room will be converted into a nutrition center.
“And then they'll also have some extension of the locker room. Then there's later on in phase two we'll have a new weight room built and in phase three there will be an extension of the complete locker room. So, we're really stepping up the facilities. It should be as good as anybody in the country when we get through."
*With the departure of Jeremiah Gemmel, junior linebacker Cedric Gray has some big shoes to fill from a leadership standpoint. Last season, Gray led UNC in tackles with 99 total tackles, including 52 solo tackles. Though Gray has solidified himself as a starter, Brown is starting to see more and more leadership qualities from him.
“He is having fun, he is confident, and he thinks it's his turn,” said Brown. “We have made a huge emphasis on leadership. We are challenging our coaches in each room to make sure they teach it every day. Then after spring practice the coaches will come to me on each side of the ball and special teams and tell me who they think deserves to be on the leadership committee.
“I will make that final decision, then after fall camp right before our opening game against Florida A&M, the players will vote on the leadership committee. We are making it much more difficult to get on that committee than ever before. We are challenging guys to step up. Cedric Gray has been one of the best leaders on our defense.”
*North Carolina struggled along the offensive line at times last season, as it was ranked near the bottom among Power 5 teams in sacks allowed and tackles for a loss of yardage allowed. One reason for those struggles was the Tar Heels’ inability to keep a healthy body at the center position. This offseason, Brown and his staff addressed the depth concerns at center by going out and getting Miami transfer Corey Gaynor. The Florida native has played in 38 career games including 28 starts along the interior of the offensive line. Brown wants Gaynor to know being new to the program will not affect his ability to be a leader.
“Corey is an aggressive vocal leader,” he said. “He and Brian Anderson have both probably been the two best leaders in our offensive line room so far. They are guys that are good in that room, especially when you have a change because Zach Rice and Treyvion Green have lost their coach after a month. So, they have to try and pick them up. I thought Corey did a great job of leading today. “