North Carolina is hiring Ole Miss offensive coordinator Phil Longo for the same position, a source tells ESPN. The Athletic first reported the move, as Mack Brown now has both of his coordinators in place. Longo spent the past two seasons at Ole Miss, which now will be replacing both coordinators following a 5-7 season.
North Carolina has hired Army's Jay Bateman to serve as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
Anthony Ratliff-Williams, who led North Carolina in receiving yards this year, said Tuesday that he's skipping his final college season to pursue an NFL career.
North Carolina coach Mack Brown says Urban Meyer called him at 6 a.m. today to say he's retiring at Ohio State. Meyer told Brown that health was the "total reason" why he will no longer the coach the Buckeyes. "He told me he couldn't be animated at the level he needed to to energize his team," Brown said. "He said, 'If I can't coach like I need to coach, I'm not going to coach.'"
Mack Brown on why he returned to coaching at North Carolina. Brown enters the College Football Hall of Fame today.
Mack Brown is busy making hires for his new staff at North Carolina, with coaches and players from his past at both Texas and UNC joining him at Chapel Hill.
Mack Brown, five years removed from coaching at Texas, is optimistic he can turn things around in his second stint as UNC coach. "We want to win now," he said.
Hall of Famers like Johnny Majors (Pitt), John Robinson (USC) and even Bill Walsh (Stanford) struggled to sustain success upon returning to old coaching jobs.
Ivan Maisel, Brad Edwards and Heather Dinich discuss the latest coaching speculation (2:50), weigh in on the CFP recusal process (8:34), talk about Dabo Swinney's aggravation with Clemson detractors and more. Plus, Walk-Ons (28:49) and Extra Points (36:50).
No surprise here: Michigan earned the final No. 5 spot of the season after getting blown out by Ohio State. But who landed the historic No. 1 ranking?
Mack Brown isn't the first coach to get a second chance with a franchise. Here's how other notable coaches fared in their second tours.
Mack Brown has agreed to return to the University of North Carolina as the school's football coach.
Matt Schick, Peter Burns & Jake Trotter discuss the latest coaching news (2:20), weigh in on Ohio State's drubbing of Michigan (16:25), note the CFP implications from the weekend (24:30) and more. Plus, "Talk Nerdy To Me" (42:35), Walk-Ons (49:34) and Extra Points (55:33).
A fight started in the end zone Saturday, after NC State's 24-28 overtime win over North Carolina, and on Monday the ACC issued half-game suspensions and public reprimands to seven players.
Mack Brown has emerged as the front-runner to return to North Carolina as head coach, and the two sides are engaged in talks to try to finalize a deal, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Candidates for North Carolina include Memphis coach Mike Norvell (worked with AD Bubba Cunningham at Tulsa), Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield, North Texas coach Seth Littrell (former UNC offensive coordinator) and Troy coach Neal Brown. ESPN analyst Mack Brown, the former UNC coach, could make a push for the job. Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and defensive coordinator Brent Venables, Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and Maryland interim head coach Matt Canada also likely will be considered.
North Carolina fired coach Larry Fedora after seven seasons, including back-to-back nine-loss campaigns.
North Carolina today fired coach Larry Fedora, sources tell Mark Schlabach and me. The Tar Heels went 2-9 this season and 3-9 a year ago. Coordinators John Papuchis and Chris Kapilovic also have been fired, according to a source.
After Reggie Gallaspy II's game-winning, 1-yard touchdown run in overtime for the Wolfpack, tensions boiled over between NC State and North Carolina, with pushing in the end zone leading to a quick but intense melee postgame.
| Atlantic | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Clemson | 8-0 | 13-0 |
| Syracuse | 6-2 | 9-3 |
| NC State | 5-3 | 9-3 |
| Boston College | 4-4 | 7-5 |
| Florida State | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Wake Forest | 3-5 | 6-6 |
| Louisville | 0-8 | 2-10 |
| Coastal | CONF | OVR |
| Pittsburgh | 6-2 | 7-6 |
| Georgia Tech | 5-3 | 7-5 |
| Miami | 4-4 | 7-5 |
| Virginia | 4-4 | 7-5 |
| Virginia Tech | 4-4 | 6-6 |
| Duke | 3-5 | 7-5 |
| North Carolina | 1-7 | 2-9 |
| NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khafre Brown | WR | Committed | 82 |
| Emery Simmons | WR | Committed | 79 |
| Josh Henderson | RB | Committed | 78 |
| Kamari Morales | TE-H | Committed | 77 |
| Giovanni Biggers | S | Committed | 77 |
| YEAR | PLAYER | AWARD |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | J. Peppers | Chuck Bednarik Award |
| 2001 | J. Peppers | Lombardi Award |
