Larry Fedora on UNC making it to a bowl game, and what went wrong in his time at UNC.
Since Larry Fedora was fired as North Carolina’s head coach in November 2018, his life has changed.
He’s spent a year out of the limelight, away from cameras and microphones. Away from the criticism that comes from being a head coach.
But he’s still attached to football.
Fedora, who coached at UNC for seven seasons, is now an analyst at Texas, helping the Longhorns’ offense with game-planning duties, he said in a recent interview with the News & Observer.
He lives in Austin, Texas, and rents an apartment with his son, Dillon. His wife and three daughters still live in Chapel Hill.
Fedora came to UNC in 2012, while the school was being investigated by the NCAA. The Tar Heels were later given a one-year postseason ban and had a reduction of 15 scholarships.
But he was 32-20 in his first four seasons with the program, and won the ACC’s Coastal Division in 2015.
But it started to go downhill after that.
In 2016, the Tar Heels finished 9-4. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky left for the NFL draft earlier than expected and was picked No. 2 overall.
From 2017 to 2018, the Tar Heels struggled immensely with injuries and poor quarterback play. They finished 5-18 and beat only two FBS teams during that span. They were struggling on the recruiting trail. And revenue from ticket sales had declined from roughly $12 million in 2017 to $7.7 million in 2018, according to information received from a public records request.
A shoe-selling scandal and his controversial comments on CTE prior to the 2018 season also landed him in hot water.
Fedora was fired after the 2018 season.
Recently, Fedora spoke with The News & Observer in one of his few interviews since he was let go. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
How often do you get to watch UNC football?
Because of the season here and my involvement here, I was not able to see much. I did get to see the last game.
What did you think of it?
I thought it was impressive. I thought they did a nice job. Scored a lot of points and played good defense. It was good to see those guys have some success.
For a former coach of a team, what type of emotions come up from watching that?
I’m happy for those guys. I really am. I’m happy for the players. I’m happy for Coach Brown and his staff. You want those guys to be successful. It’s why they came to Carolina, was to have success. This year, they won six games and became bowl eligible so I was excited for them.
Especially those seniors. Those guys have been through a lot. They fought through a lot. A lot of them had overcome injuries. So it was really good to see them have success and play in a bowl for their senior year.
When you look back at your time at UNC, is there anything you wish you could have back?
You would like to have those last two years back, and you would like to not have the injuries, and you’d like for those guys to have success. But I’m proud of the things that we accomplished there, and the circumstances when we were there, and I’m proud of the guys that did have the success there.
Where do you think it went wrong?
You know, Jonathan, that’s hard to say. There were a lot of things that went wrong. You could put a whole list together, but we just didn’t have the success we needed to in those last couple of seasons.
How tough was it in 2018?
It’s always difficult. You pour your heart and soul into it. Your staff does the same, and your players do the same and you want them all to have success, and unfortunately, we just didn’t do that.
How did it all go down at end? How were you told you were fired?
I would really prefer not to get into all of that.
Sam Howell was somebody you recruited, did you think he’d be this good?
We thought he had a chance to be really good. That’s why we were recruiting him. And he’s showing that as a freshman. He had a tremendous season, and I think the future is really bright for him.
What do you think about Chazz (Surratt) and his success at linebacker?
Well, it’s funny because we talked about that, that last season. I talked about it with him about moving over to the defensive side of the ball. And so I was just so happy for him, and so excited to see the success that he had this year. You knew he had it in him. He’s just a tremendous athlete and a very intelligent guy. And I couldn’t be more happier for him and his family. Just everybody.
Could you have predicted All-ACC first team?
I don’t know if I’d predicted that in his first year, but you knew he could run, you knew he could hit, and he’s got some quickness about him, and he’s got some explosiveness. So you knew he had a chance to be a really good player on that side of the ball.
What’s next for you?
Well, I’m hoping to be a head coach again. That’s my plan and if the good Lord is willing, that’s what will happen and I’ll go on and lead another team some day.
Do you have a time period?
No. Whenever it happens. I’m pursuing jobs as they come open. If it’s the right fit, it will happen.
When you look back on your CTE comments, is there anything you would do or say differently?
Oh, I would probably say it all differently, because what I was trying to say didn’t come out the way I wanted to. I probably wouldn’t say anything to be honest with you.
What did you want people to take from your time at UNC?
We came into some very unusual circumstances there at Carolina. And throughout our time period there, I don’t think we ever made any excuses for anything that we inherited, or what we had to try to accomplish and we worked hard, and we had some really good seasons. Just didn’t get it done at the end. The 2015 season was pretty special. And proud of all the players that went through there. All ones that got their degrees. The ones that are being successful and being good citizens now. Again, I’m excited about the future. I think Coach Brown is going to do a tremendous job there and I look forward to watching them.
How much do you attribute Mitch Trubisky leaving earlier than expected, or maybe you did expect him to leave that early?
Noooo, I didn’t expect to leave — to be the second player in the draft. But he did. He had a tremendous year. Is doing a great job in the NFL. But it’s not something you plan for. But you just have to adjust, you move on from it. The next guy has got to step up. I think that season in ‘17 we had over 20 season-ending injuries. And those things were difficult to overcome.
Would you say those two things — Trubisky leaving early and the injuries — were the two biggest things?
Yeah, that’s probably pretty good. Yeah.
