Mack Brown addresses frustration on the sideline vs Notre Dame

North Carolina head coach Mack Brown got as animated as we’ve seen him on a sideline during his 34 years coaching on Saturday when he took exception to a pass interference call against his team on Saturday.

It appeared the Tar Heels had stopped Notre Dame from scoring a touchdown when the officials tossed a flag for pass interference on the play, leading to Brown barreling onto the field and throwing his hat while hollering at the official. It drew a quick unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“I think he got mad because I was out on the field. And I told him in my experience, my 34 years, guys come over and say ‘Coach, I know you’re upset, let’s walk over here and let’s talk about it.’ And they manage it. He was quick. He had a quick release,” Brown said to chuckles from the media. “Cost us 1 yard, so — he had a short trigger.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“I think that’s a first. I think everybody knows I’m going to try to do what’s right, I’m going to try to say what’s right, I’m passionate and I want to win.”

Brown was defiant about the call even after the game concluded, alluding to the fact he wants to see the game tape to prove him right.

“Ray Vohasek said he tripped and was pushed and fell into a guy. So we’ll see all that tonight when we start watching the video,” Brown said.

Brown explained that his spitting rage in the moment stemmed from his own competitive nature and his desire to stick up for his players.

Knowing how much they sacrifice to try and win games, Brown couldn’t stomach the idea that they got hosed on a call.

“And if I feel like something has been taken away from the kids on a play, it’s my responsibility to stand up for them. And that’s simply what I’m doing. And somebody throws a flag at me because I’m questioning a call, eh, good for them,” Brown said. “But the kids were fighting their guts out, we’ve asked them to be a player-led team, we’ve asked them to push each other, we’ve asked them to call on each other. I’ve seen coaches get in fights on the sideline. This is really important. And if it’s not working well, you want to fight your guts out to make sure that everybody understands you’re doing the best that you can do. And what I asked the team and what I asked the staff is give the everything they’ve got. And that’s what I wanted to give them back. So really and truly, that was called passion in a lot of cases.”