Mack Brown describes what conversations look like with coaches, staff on future

There is plenty of time between the final game of the college football regular season and when some teams take the field again for their bowl game contests. In the case of the North Carolina Tar Heels, there is more than a month between their last competition, a 39-20 regular season-ending loss to NC State, and their showdown with West Virginia in the Dukes Mayo Bowl.

Shortly after the end of the regular season, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown discussed what the month leading up to their game against West Virginia would look like. The Tar Heels headman also described what conversations with his coaches, players, and future staff would take place.

“They’ll have finals, and they’ll get back. We’ll get some guys well, get back in the strength program, figure out where we’re going to go, and start preparing to play better,” said Brown.

“They’ll start Monday. And each coach will sit down with every player and say: ‘Are you going to the NFL? If you’re drafted at this place, are you going? Or, if you’re drafted at this place what does that mean? Are you transferring? Are you going to play in the bowl. Are you going to opt out of the bowl? If you’re transferring, are you going to play in the bowl?’ So, we’ll ask all those questions this week.”

All the movement around this time of year is normal within college football. And to help keep everyone in the know, Brown makes a simple request of everyone attached to the North Carolina program: be honest.

“At the end of the year, I ask our players to be honest with us, and I always ask our assistants to be honest with us,” said Brown. “If you look at the job, let me know, because if you look, I’m gonna look. I’ve got a lot of evaluating to do. So I’ll look at everything we’ve got and that happens over the next month.”

The time in between the end of the regular season and bowl games is a frantic time for college head coaches. This is often when other programs poach coaches from one another and when the first NCAA transfer portal window opens. And that could mean losing players and staff alike left and right.

So Brown is making sure that he does his due diligence and asking all the possible questions to ensure North Carolina is in the best possible position they can be once they take the field on December 27 against West Virginia.