After all, Mack Brown has no plans to quit his job and feels “disappointed” in himself for having offered it.
Brown, following North Carolina’s stunning 70-50 loss to James Madison at home on Saturday, said he told his players he would quit if they didn’t feel he was doing a good job leading the program. Many players left the locker room thinking the 73-year-old veteran coach was going to step down.
That’s not the case, he said Monday.
“I shouldn’t have put that pressure on them, so I’m disappointed in myself,” Brown said. By ESPN’s David Hale“I love my job, I love these kids and I love this place. That’s why I hate losing so much.”
North Carolina came into Saturday’s game at Kenan Stadium as a massive 12.5-point favorite over the Dukes. However, James Madison completely crushed the Tar Heels. Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett III threw for 388 yards and had five total touchdowns, two of which he ran back himself. They blocked a punt for a touchdown and recovered an onside kick in the first quarter, and had an incredible 53 points at halftime. That was the most North Carolina had ever allowed in a half.
Brown, a College Football Hall of Famer who returned to North Carolina in 2019 after a 16-year career at Texas, took the loss exceptionally hard. After offering his resignation to his team, Brown said they were “overwhelmingly” supportive of his staying. He said he sent them all a message an hour after arriving home Saturday night after the game apologizing for his comments.
“I’m supposed to be a role model for these guys, that I’m supposed to take negative things and turn them into positives and learn from the losses,” Brown said. “I didn’t do very well on Saturday night. I’m disappointed in myself, I’ll learn from this and I won’t do it again.”
North Carolina will face Duke next Saturday in Durham in what will be its first ACC game of the season.