UNC’s Brown takes responsibility but says he has no intention of resigning after crushing defeat

Mack Brown told ESPN on Saturday he would not resign after an emotional locker room scene with his players following North Carolina’s embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison, which is in just its third season as an FBS school.

Brown, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said he told the players it was his fault and that he would retire if he couldn’t fix it. The 70 points allowed were the most ever allowed by the Tar Heels, who fell to 3-1.

“I’m not resigning. I’ll be back to work Monday,” Brown told ESPN.

Brown, 73, is in his sixth season at North Carolina. He told ESPN he was aware of some of the reports and that messages in the emotional locker room could be misinterpreted, but he insisted he would not resign.

Brown led UNC to winning records in four of his five seasons. The Tar Heels won eight games last season and nine the season before, when they finished first in the ACC Coastal Division. Brown was at Texas for 16 seasons, winning a national championship in 2005 and playing for another in 2009. He resigned under pressure after the 2013 season, and after taking a break from coaching, he returned to North Carolina in 2019 for his second stint in Chapel Hill. Brown coached North Carolina from 1988-97.

The Tar Heels travel to rival Duke next Saturday.