Mack Brown's return from retirement in 2019 to lead North Carolina provided an underachieving program with a strong connection to its past and a chance at a brighter future.
The Hall of Fame coach engineered an initial surge, getting UNC to the Orange Bowl and a No. 18 AP finish in his second season. Brown upgraded recruiting and oversaw the development of productive quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye. He made bowl games every season, but the breakthrough both he and the Tar Heels hoped for never really came. Although Brown, 73, remained energetic, his age and ability to effectively lead the program became an annual question. Despite announcing his intention Monday to return in 2025, he was fired the following day.
He is 44-32 in his second stint at North Carolina, far from his first, when he recorded AP top 10 finishes in his final two seasons and went 54-18 in his last six years. Since Brown's final season in 1997, North Carolina has had just one 10-win season and still hasn't won the ACC championship.
The UNC job has clear plusses and minuses. North Carolina is the flagship school in a state with plenty of high school talent. The program has increased its investment in football and has a very recognizable brand. But UNC always will be a basketball school, and the extended stretch without elite success could make some candidates think twice. Although veteran athletic director Bubba Cunningham will probably consider coaches from varied backgrounds, he might want to emphasize defense, given the program's continued struggles on that side of the ball.
Here are eight potential options for Cunningham to consider as Brown's replacement.
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall: The key will be whether UNC can -- or wants to -- pry Sumrall away from SEC country. He will be a top candidate for many jobs in that league if and when they become available. Sumrall can certainly wait until the 2025 cycle, which figures to be more robust, but at 42, he's exactly what North Carolina needs: a tough, defensive-minded coach who maximizes his roster's potential. He went 23-4 at Troy, winning consecutive Sun Belt titles, before returning to Tulane, where he's 9-2 in his first season, with only losses to Power 4 opponents. He also has a shot at a College Football Playoff appearance if the Green Wave can win the AAC title.
UNLV coach Barry Odom: His work at UNLV has positioned him for a second Power 4 head-coaching opportunity. The only question is: Where? Odom, 47, has revived the UNLV program, which reached the Mountain West title game last season and could get back to the championship game depending on this weekend's results. UNLV beat two Big 12 teams (Kansas and Houston) this fall, and the team's only losses have come against 8-3 Syracuse in overtime and against No. 12 Boise State by five points. Odom didn't do poorly at Missouri, going 25-25 with two bowl appearances, and would bring the defensive edge that North Carolina lacks. Although he hasn't worked in the ACC or in the region, he faced the same obstacle when he arrived at UNLV and has clearly assimilated.
Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann: If North Carolina is committed to a defensive-minded coach and open to a first-time head coach, Schumann makes a lot of sense. He will be one of the top coordinator candidates on the market after overseeing a Georgia defense that smothered Texas in an Oct. 19 win and currently ranks 17th nationally in points allowed. Schumann, 34, is not a Dan Lanning clone in personality or background, even though he replaced Lanning as Georgia's lead coordinator. He has spent his entire career in the SEC and knows the Southeast region well.
ESPN analyst Dan Mullen: He hasn't coached since the 2021 season at Florida and continues to thrive at ESPN, but an opportunity like UNC could be intriguing. Mullen, 52, wouldn't face the recruiting and performance expectations he had at Florida, and he has the schematic chops to continue North Carolina's strong run of quarterbacks. He hasn't worked in the ACC, but he has had several SEC stops, along with a season at Syracuse in 1998, when the school was a member of the Big East. Mullen went 103-61 at Mississippi State and Florida and brings a proven approach to offense, while also understanding the defensive side and the need for complementary football.
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck: Most Big Ten or SEC coaches won't leave those leagues for an ACC job, and Fleck could be content remaining at Minnesota, where he has created stability with bowl appearances in every season since 2018, with the exception being the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. Fleck, 43, is an Illinois native with strong family connections to the Midwest. But he also could benefit from a reset and a chance to do more at a program with a recognizable brand and an easier CFP path. Fleck is 86-61 overall as an FBS coach with a Cotton Bowl appearance at Western Michigan in 2016. He employs a more conservative style of play that might work at a UNC program that has lacked balance under the last few coaches.
Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell: If North Carolina can get beyond Chadwell's lack of Power 4 experience, the school will love what it sees. Chadwell is 52-9 since the start of the 2020 season at Coastal Carolina and now Liberty, which went 13-1 last fall and played in its first Fiesta Bowl. He has built programs in a distinct style and won at multiple levels of the sport. Chadwell, 47, is a Tennessee native with extensive experience in the region, mainly in South Carolina and now Virginia. A Power 4 team is eventually going to give him a chance, and North Carolina could be the one.
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson: There aren't many obvious candidates within the ACC for the North Carolina job, but Clawson might be worth pursuing. Yes, UNC would have to get past hiring Wake Forest's coach, but Clawson has had a historic run of stability at a program with fewer resources. From 2016 to 2022, Wake Forest won at least seven games every season, except for the COVID-shortened 2020, and reached the ACC title game while winning 11 games in 2021. The NIL/portal era hasn't been kind to Wake Forest, which has lost notable players, or to Clawson, 57, who is 8-15 since the start of the 2023 season. But North Carolina would land an experienced coach who knows the league and, with more resources, could help the team take the next step.
Birmingham Stallions coach Skip Holtz: It's never easy to replace a Hall of Famer like Brown, but Holtz wouldn't be intimidated. His own father, Lou, is a Hall of Fame coach, and he has been around the game his entire life. Skip Holtz worked in the state at East Carolina, where he went 38-27 with two Conference USA titles. He won 152 games as a coach at UConn, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech, but some of his best work has come with the Stallions, who won the UFL title in 2024 after consecutive USFL championships. Holtz, 60, is 26-4 with the Stallions. He also assisted Northwestern coach David Braun in 2023, when the team went 8-5 and Braun won Big Ten coach of the year. Holtz also has a Notre Dame connection with Cunningham, a Notre Dame alum and former administrator, through their time there.