North Carolina’s football program has had some pretty nice runs in its past, which includes finishing ranked in the top 10 in four different decades under four different coaches.
Along the way, UNC has also had some very good coaches, so we thought it would be fun to rank the top five Tar Heels’ coaches of all time.
Here is our list:
No. 5: Larry Fedora (2012-Present)
Record: 43-34
*Inherited a program on NCAA probation with scholarship limitations for four seasons but didn’t suffer a losing regular season until his sixth campaign at the helm. And even that season’s issues were the result of a record number of season-ending injuries.
*Led UNC to a share of Coastal Division title in 2012 and the outright title in 2015
*Led UNC to its only double-digit win season since 1997 with an 11-3 record in 2015
*Led his 2015 team to the longest regular season winning streak (11 games) ever at UNC
*NFL first-round picks: 4
*Led UNC to a final ranking of No. 15 in 2015
Thoughts: Fedora is entering his seventh season, and it’s conceivable his best years at Carolina are ahead of him with the cloud now lifted from the program and the current team at full strength phyysically. He’s done a nice job, and that 2015 season is proof he can get UNC to a level nobody has for two decades. His job is incomplete, so he’s not going to finish too high on this list, but he deserves this spot, and there’s potential for more.
No. 4: Carl Snavely (1934-35 & 1945-52)
Record: 59-35-5
*Coached three different UNC teams that lost just one game
*Record before his final two seasons at UNC was 55-21-5
*Led UNC to three major bowl games: 2 Sugar Bowls and 1 Cotton Bowl
Led UNC to finals rankings:
1946 – 9
1947 – 9
1948 – 3
1949 – 16
*The 1948 UNC team is the only one that was ever ranked No. 1 in the nation.
*Coached the greatest UNC player ever in Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice
Thoughts: One could argue that Snavely’s success was mainly because of Justice as well as Art Winer, and there’s a lot of truth to that, but what solidifies him on this list are the 7-1-1 and 8-1 campaigns in 1934 and 1935. Snavely benefitted from having Justice, but he deserves credit for using him the right way and for the overall strength of the Heels in those years. Thus, he’s worthy of being on this list.
No. 3: Dick Crum (1978-87)
Record: 72-41-3 (Still the winningest coach in UNC history)
*1 ACC championship (1980)
*ACC Coach of the Year 1980
*Led UNC to four consecutive final national rankings:
1979 – 15
1980 – 10
1981 – 9
1982 – 18
*Won four straight bowl games from 1979-82 beating Texas twice (both times in Texas), Michigan and Arkansas. Overall, led UNC to six bowl games.
*Coached the greatest defensive player in the sport’s history, Lawrence Taylor. Was responsible for moving Taylor from end to linebacker, which is when he took off as a player.
*NFL first-round picks: 5
Thoughts: Crum had a pretty good run, and it wasn’t just because he inherited what Bill Dooley built. His fourth team finished ranked in the top 10, as an example. His teams won bowl games, and the 1981 Tar Heels could have been a serious national title contender if Heisman candidate Kelvin Bryant didn’t tear his knee in the fourth game of the season. The Heels were that good. But the way Crum closed – three 5-win seasons in his last four years - tainted his run.
No. 2: Mack Brown (1988-97)
Record: 69-46-1
*ACC Coach of the Year 1996
*Brown’s Tar Heels were ranked in the AP Top 25 every week from October 1992 through November in 1994, were ranked in 1995 and after the first week of the 1996 campaign until early in the 1998 season. Thus, UNC was ranked at some point in each of Brown’s last six seasons the helm. They finished in the final rankings in four out of five years, including two straight appearances in the top 10.
Final rankings under Brown:
1992 – 18
1993 – 19
1994 – 21
1996 – 10
1997 - 4
*Led UNC to five bowl games, including two Gator Bowls on New Year’s Day
*Led UNC to 10 or more wins three times in a stretch of five seasons from 1993-97
*Guided UNC to a 67-26-1 record after his first two seasons, which were both 1-10 campaigns.
*Built defense that had three first-round NFL draft picks in 1998
*NFL first-round picks: 5
Thoughts: Brown had the “sleeping giant” UNC was often described back then on the cusp of fully awakening when he left for Texas in December of 1997. But the five years beforehand captured the UNC fan base more than at any other time in the program’s history. Unfinished business is pretty typical for Carolina coaches, and Brown’s may be the one that has had UNC fans fantasize about what could have been more than any other.
No. 1: Bill Dooley (1967-77)
Record: 69-53-2
*3 ACC championships (1971, 1972, 1977)
*ACC Coach of the Year 1971
Three of his UNC teams ended seasons nationally ranked:
1971 – 18
1972 – 12
1977 – 17
*Led UNC to six bowl games (two Sun, two Peach, one Gator and one Liberty)
*NFL first-round picks: 2
Thoughts: Dooley took over UNC when football was as down as ever. He made the sport matter again at UNC and in some respects the floundering ACC. He brought a physicality the program would be known for over the next decade and also won three conference championships. Brown may have had a better overall run, but no coach has meant more to UNC football than Dooley.
