A national championship-winning football coach has been fired.

North Carolina announced Tuesday that College Football Hall of Fame member Mack Brown will not return next season. Brown, 73, will coach his final game in Chapel Hill on Saturday against rival NC State.

The news comes a day after Brown said he planned to return next season. The Tar Heels (6-5) are bowl eligible, but it is unclear whether Brown would coach in that game.

Brown, a 2005 national championship winner at Texas, coached UNC from 1988-97 before returning to Chapel Hill in 2018.

“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,” athletics 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. He has also been a dedicated fundraiser, strengthening football endowments while supporting our other sports programs.”

Brown went 44-32 in his second stint at Carolina, making a bowl game each season. His teams were typically explosive on offense behind quarterbacks like Sam Howell and Drake Maye, but defensive issues plagued the Tar Heels during his final tenure.

Carolina played in the Orange Bowl in 2020, went to the ACC Championship in 2022 and had 18 NFL draft picks during Brown’s second tenure.

Cunningham also praised the coach and his wife, Sally, for raising money for UNC Children’s Hospital, organizing popular events like the Ladies Day Clinic and leading the program during the tragic death of wide receiver Tylee Craft earlier this season .

Brown ranks eighth all-time among FBS coaches with 288 wins. He is the only coach with more than 100 wins at multiple FBS schools: 113 in North Carolina and 158 in Texas.

Brown has three years left on his contract. The remaining payments will be covered by the athletic department, the school said.

Cunningham and Chancellor Lee H. Roberts are leading the search for a new head coach.