Mack Brown’s Hall of Fame coaching career is ending. A look back at his accomplishments

Inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018 and winner of a national championship at Texas, Mack Brown’s legendary coaching tenure will end after this UNC football season.

The school announced Tuesday that the 73-year-old Brown will not return for the 2025 season, closing the books on his second tenure with the Tar Heels.

It’s an accomplished career, which began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Florida State, before he landed his first head coaching job at Appalachian State.

Here’s a look at Mack Brown’s career:

Head coaching record

Overall: 288-154-1

Overall record at UNC: 113-78-1

Record at Texas: 158-48

Record at Tulane: 11-23

Record at Appalachian State: 6-5

Overall bowl record: 14-12.

National championship: 2005, with Texas

Coaching highlights

– At Tulane, takes Green Wave to its fifth bowl in 40 years with an appearance In 1987 Independence Bowl.

-- Dec. 16, 1987, named head coach at North Carolina at age 36, succeeding Dick Crum.

-- Oct. 22, 1988, wins first game at UNC, beating Georgia Tech 20-17 at Kenan Stadium.

– In first tenure at UNC, Brown builds a program from depths of 1-10 finishes in first two seasons to one that was 10-1 in 1997 and ranked No. 6 in the final AP poll. UNC was 10-2 and No. 10 in 1996.

– At Texas, had nine straight seasons of 10 or more wins from 2001-2009. Longhorns were 13-0 in winning the national championship in 2005 and finished 13-1, losing to Alabama in the BCS title game, in 2009.

-- In 2018, inducted into College Football Hall of Fame.

-- Nov. 27, 2018, begins second stint at UNC, being hired to replace the fired Larry Fedora.

-- Aug. 31., 2019, wins first game of “Mack 2.0” era with 24-20 victory over South Carolina in Charlotte.

– In Brown’s second tenure at UNC, Tar Heels win the ACC’s Coastal Division in 2022 before losing to Clemson in the ACC championship game. UNC also played in the 2020 Orange Bowl.

-- Nov. 2, 2024, Tar Heels give Brown first coaching victory over his alma mater with 35-11 win at Florida State.

Brown coaching file

1973-74: student coach, wide receivers, Florida State.

1975-77: wide receivers coach, Southern Mississippi.

1978: wide receivers coach, Memphis State.

1979-81: wide receivers coach, offensive coordinator, Iowa State.

1982: offensive coordinator, LSU.

1983: head coach, Appalachian State.

1984: offensive coordinator, Oklahoma.

1985-87: head coach, athletic director, Tulane.

1988-97: head coach, North Carolina.

1998-2013: head coach, Texas.

2019-24: head coach, North Carolina

This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 1:11 PM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

919-829-8945

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.