Mack Brown sends warning to opposing coaches saying he's going to quit: 'Six of them have been fired'
Unfortunately, negative recruiting runs rampant in college football. An easy one for opposing programs out there is if a rival has a head coach on the older side. Mack Brown is an example, something he knows has been used against North Carolina in recent years.
Brown is still around, though, something coaches who have tried to point out his age when recruiting cannot say. A warning was sent out by the UNC headman on Thursday, saying others should worry about their own careers.
“Every coach recruiting against us says I’m going to quit,” Brown said at ACC Media Days via Travon Miles of ABC 11. “And six of them have been fired that said that already. So they ought to be worried about themselves.”
In just a few weeks, Brown will celebrate his 73rd birthday. North Carolina will play their 2024 opener two days later against Minnesota, marking season No. 35 as a head coach for Brown. Appalachian State was the first program to give him an opportunity in 1983, with Tulane and Texas also being considered home.
But Brown is the oldest head coach in all of college football. He held the title before Nick Saban retired at Alabama but just by a couple of months. Now, Iowa‘s Kirk Ferentz is in second place at the age of 69 and soon-to-be 70 years old on Aug. 1.
Age does not seem to be a problem for Brown. North Carolina still has a head coach charged up for today’s college football world. The ACC is entering a new era and you can bet Brown is expecting to be near the top of the pack.
North Carolina has made a bowl game in five consecutive seasons, something they have not done since Brown’s first stint in the mid-1990s. Results have been earned after Brown has done a great job bringing plenty of talent to Chapel Hill.
All five recruiting cycles Brown has been around have resulted in the Tar Heels finishing inside the top five when compared to the ACC foes. Not too shabby considering some of the brands currently inside the conference.
Don’t expect a retirement discussion anytime soon, either. Brown wants to continue coaching and as long as on-field and recruiting results continue, North Carolina will give him the chance. Others can attempt to negatively recruit against him all they want but Brown is not going to stand for it.