CHAPEL HILL -- Larry Fedora began his first job when he was 13, after his dad found him work with a bricklayer. He grew to loathe those summers out under a bright Texas sun, working with his hands, but he learned something about commitment and drive - about what it takes to build things.
Fedora on Friday stood behind a lectern more than 1,200 miles from his hometown in College Station, Texas, and more than three decades removed from those construction jobs he worked as a boy. But after the University of North Carolina formally introduced him as its football head coach, Fedora spoke of lessons learned long ago.
"I'm willing to roll my sleeves up," he said, "and do whatever it takes."
In some ways Fedora's newest job is similar to his first. He again has been charged with building something and, in particular, rebuilding a football program that has been rocked during the past two years by an NCAA investigation that led to the firing of Butch Davis, the Tar Heels' former coach.
UNC introduced Fedora in a setting that was half news conference, half celebration. Members of the public, who'd been invited, stood and cheered when Bubba Cunningham, the university's athletics director, introduced Fedora.
Dressed in a sharp, dark navy suit with a Carolina blue tie, Fedora cracked one-liners throughout his energized, up-tempo opening statement. He took questions in stride, ones about his inexperience recruiting in North Carolina and parts surrounding it and about the NCAA issues that have loomed over the program he's inheriting.
After the news conference, people came up to Fedora wanting handshakes, wanting autographs, wanting to spend a few seconds with the man who will shape the future of North Carolina football. Fedora, who spent the past four seasons at Southern Mississippi, was happy to oblige.
He looked as comfortable amid a crowd as he did behind a microphone, talking about how he was ready for the considerable task before him. Fedora, 49, must mend a Tar Heels' fan base that fractured over Davis' departure - one faction supporting it and another wishing Davis had been allowed to stay.
Fedora must put a shine back on the reputation of UNC's football program. And he must do those things while building a program UNC officials hope will force people to forget about the past.
"There's a lot riding on it," UNC Board of Trustees chairman Wade Hargrove said of Fedora's hiring. "We're all very much aware of that. And it is important that this be the right hire at the right time."
Hargrove was speaking inside the UNC alumni center, where he and other UNC trustees on Friday morning formally approved a seven-year contract that will pay Fedora $1.73 million annually, not including compensation he's expected to receive from apparel and media contracts.
UNC also will provide Fedora a one-time payment of $400,000 on or before Jan. 31, 2012.
Holden Thorp, the UNC chancellor, described the contract as "fair" and said he believed Cunningham had made the right choice.
"I think if he just comes here and does what he has shown he can do, that we're going to rebuild everything we need to rebuild," Thorp said of Fedora. "... Getting this hire right was incredibly important for the institution."
Thorp, who in July fired Davis just days before preseason practice, spoke during the news conference about the "challenging season." He thanked UNC's players and coaches, thanked the fans. He especially thanked Everett Withers, the interim coach who took over after Davis.
Cunningham said the most difficult part of the process, for him, was telling Withers he wouldn't be hired on a permanent basis. Cunningham said he began preparing for the coaching search Oct. 16, two days after he was hired, and after the college football season ended it didn't take long for him to zero in on Fedora.
"We feel Larry Fedora is the coach who can unify our fan base and move us successfully into the future," Cunningham said.
Still, Fedora had to accept the offer. He joked Friday that Cunningham attempted to talk him out of the job, given the challenges North Carolina faces. In reality, Cunningham was merely preparing Fedora.
Cunningham didn't want Fedora to be surprised by anything - least of all anything relating to the NCAA violations. Cunningham replaced longtime AD Dick Baddour, who announced his retirement in July.
"The idea was this is an unbelievably special place," Cunningham said. "But it's not perfect. And we need to work through that and figure out a way to be successful."
UNC placed itself on two years of probation amid the NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct. The university also vacated wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, reduced the football program's scholarship allotment by three in each of the next three academic years and fined itself $50,000.
University officials recently met in Indianapolis before the NCAA Committee on Infractions, and sometime during the next several weeks, or months, UNC will learn what additional sanctions it will face. Penalties could include a temporary ban on postseason, which could hurt financially and recruiting.
Fedora seemed unfazed by the NCAA investigation and by whatever sanctions might await. He spoke Friday about showing strength in the face of adversity. He said he preaches that to his players. After he'd stepped down from the podium, Fedora said UNC had "already moved past" the issues with the NCAA.
"I think we've moved past it and now we just have to move forward," he said. "And like I said, you learn from the mistakes that you make in the past and you make sure you don't make those mistakes in the future. So that's done with. ...
"Let's focus on what we need to do to make sure we're getting better."
At Southern Mississippi, that approach led Fedora to an 11-2 record this season, and a victory against previously unbeaten Houston in the Conference USA title game. Fedora will coach the Golden Eagles in the Hawaii Bowl this month and then he officially will begin his duties at North Carolina.
In addition to the broader challenges, Fedora will have to quickly assemble a staff of coaches. And less than three months before national signing day, he will take over the Tar Heels' recruiting efforts.
His boss at Southern Miss said he has little doubt Fedora is capable.
"North Carolina got a great one," said Richard Giannini, the Southern Mississippi AD. "He's as good as I've ever been around and I've been around coaches for 45 years. He's the real deal. The total package. He's going to blow away Carolina fans with the way he performs."
Praise like that helped Fedora land the job. Cunningham said people who Fedora had worked with called him, unsolicited, and offered sterling reviews.
Fedora's first Division I job came at Baylor, under coach Grant Taeff, who said he "let it be known" Fedora and UNC would be a good match. Then Fedora had stops at Air Force and at Middle Tennessee State, at Florida and Oklahoma State before becoming the Southern Mississippi head coach.
He said Friday that he and his wife and his three children were ready to stop moving. They were hoping to make a permanent home. People at North Carolina, meanwhile, were hoping they'd found a coach who will stay a while, one who can make the bad memories fade amid a new beginning.
"Let's hope we did," Hargrove said of finding that kind of coach. "Let's hope Bubba did it."
