FORT WORTH, Texas — Mack Brown is back to living in Austin, Texas, during the winter and through the spring, and plans to spend the summer at the family’s home in the North Carolina mountains. He is certainly at peace nearly three months after coaching his final game for the Tar Heels.
“We were doing that before and it worked,” Brown said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I may do some TV, I’ll probably do some podcasts. I enjoyed that. … You can do it from North Carolina just as easy as anywhere.”
While the 73-year-old Brown was frustrated by how his departure was handled, the College Football Hall of Fame member reiterated Monday that he was ready to be done coaching after a second stint with the Tar Heels, and is pulling for them to be successful under new coach Bill Belichick.
“I think the frustration was it was probably more political than anything else,” Brown said. “They knew I was going to be through at the end of the year, but there were some, a lot of people, that weren’t on the same page. So it didn’t really matter in the end.”
On Monday, Brown became the first non-quarterback, and first coach, recognized as a Legends Award recipient during the Davey O’Brien awards dinner. That was also when Cam Ward, who exceled in his only season at Miami and could be the NFL’s top draft pick, was presented the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback.
The winningest coach in Tar Heels history, Brown said he didn’t want to announce any change before the regular-season finale against rival N.C. State. But it was in the days leading up to the Thanksgiving week game that North Carolina said Brown wouldn’t be returning after six seasons in his second stint there.
“At North Carolina at that time, without revenue sharing, there wasn’t enough money, so you couldn’t compete. We had $4 million and you just couldn’t compete, and that was the frustrating thing,” Brown said Monday. “So I thought it was really time for somebody new to come in for the $13 million revenue sharing and kind of get a fresh new start. And I’d had enough.”
One of the main reasons that Brown had even come back last season was to help oversee the program while player Tylee Craft was going through his cancer fight. The 23-year-old player died in October from a rare form of lung cancer.
“He was sick for 2 1/2 years, and that was really the reason we came back for the last year, is we wanted to make sure that he was taken care of,” Brown said.
Brown got 113 of his 288 career victories at North Carolina. He coached at Appalachian State (1983) and Tulane (1985-87) before 10 seasons in his first stint with the Tar Heels, and then a 16-season run at Texas that included the 2005 national championship with quarterback Vince Young. The Longhorns lost to Alabama four years later after Colt McCoy got injured early in that title game.
North Carolina replaced Brown with six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Belichick, and gave the 72-year-old coach a five-year deal that guarantees the first three seasons.
“I’m proud of them that they finally committed. And Bill’s one of the best ever,” Brown said. “So I’m proud for the kids. I’ve got so many friends there, like I do at Texas. So I’m glad they finally stepped up, and now they should have a chance to compete with the best in the country.”
Brown hasn’t spoken to Belichick, but did have a conversation with Michael Lombardi, who was hired by the new coach as the football program’s general manager.
“[Lombardi] called me and talked to me about some things,” Brown said. “And I want them to be successful. I’m not that young guy that’s mad at the world and all that.”