Mack Brown hot seat: Pete Thamel reveals job status for North Carolina coach

After winning their first three games of the college football season, North Carolina has lost four straight heading into a matchup at Virginia this Saturday. Which has some questioning the future of head coach Mack Brown.

At 72 years old, Brown is the oldest head coach in college football and one of three active head coaches with a national championship. Already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and someone that college football insider Pete Thamel believes could be nearing the end of the road.

“I don’t know how the end is going to happen quite yet, but I think there’s an expectation in the industry that it does happen at some point,” Thamel said. “We all know Mack Brown, we all really like Mack Brown, he’s very image-conscious.”

“So I would think everybody holds hands and look, he’s coached at that school for 16 years. That first tenure started in 1988, so there’s a lot of goodwill that’s been built up.”

After stops at Appalachian State and Tulane, Brown spent a decade as the head coach for the Tar Heels starting in 1988. Followed by 16 years at Texas where he won a national title and took a five-year break before returning to North Carolina ahead of the 2019 season.

“Remember, Bubba Cunningham recruited him to come to UNC,” Thamel added. “They made five straight bowl games, he’s done that place right, but they’re amid a four-game losing streak right now. It just doesn’t seem like there’s a way out for him to be the coach there next year.”

Since his return to Chapel Hill, Brown’s led North Carolina to a 41-31 record and notably played a role in two quarterbacks being selected in the NFL Draft. But there’s no question that what the remainder of the current season looks like could definitely impact if his time with the program is near the end. A situation that will be fascinating to track, and if true, would certainly leave an irreplaceable hole in college football.