UNC and football coach Mack Brown are parting ways, the school announced Tuesday.

Brown will coach the team’s season finale against NC State on Saturday, although no decision has been made on whether Brown will coach the Tar Heels in a bowl game, the school said.

This is according to sources familiar with the recruitment process The Athletics that Tulane coach Jon Sumrall will get a “good look” during the hiring process.

Brown, 73, has three years left on his contract. The decision to part ways comes amid a rollercoaster final season in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels lost four straight games, including an embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison in September, regrouped to win three straight games and then lost 41-21 to Boston College on Saturday.

In a statement, Brown said “this was not the perfect time or way I envisioned going out,” and that he will “always cherish the memories and relationships” built over 16 seasons on Chapel Hill.

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— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) November 26, 2024

After the loss to James Madison, Brown said that in an emotional locker room after the game, he told his team, “If y’all don’t feel like I’m the leader you need, then I’m going to do something else.” But he walked back those comments, later telling SiriusXM radio on Nov. 20 that he was still committed to the job.

Brown’s second run with the Tar Heels resulted in a trip to the ACC championship game in 2022 and trips to bowl games in all six seasons. UNC never won a championship with Drake Maye or Sam Howell, quarterbacks who were NFL Draft picks, but Brown left the program in better shape than when he got it. He inherited a program that had gone 2-9 and 3-9 in the previous two seasons under Larry Fedora.

According to USA Today, Brown owes approximately $2.8 million.

During his first tenure in Chapel Hill, Brown went 1-10 in each of his first two seasons and went on to lead the Tar Heels to four top-20 finishes in the AP poll, including an 11-1 season his senior year in 1997 .113 career wins, 10 bowl trips and four bowl victories are the most in school history. He is simply the best football coach North Carolina has ever had.

“Mack Brown has won more games than any football coach in UNC history, and we deeply appreciate all he has done for Carolina Football and our university,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement.

“Coach Brown brought the Carolina Football program back into the national conversation as we improved the program’s facilities, significantly increased staff size, invested in salaries and strengthened our nutrition, strength and conditioning programs.”

Brown led Texas to a national championship in 2005. His 282 career wins came between stops at Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985-87), North Carolina (1988-97, 2019-2024) and Texas (1998-2013) are ranked 18th. all-time in college football – and only ten shy of legendary coach Nick Saban.

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(Photo: Grant Halverson/Getty Images)