Art's Angle: Winds of Discontent

The Boston College game, not so much the loss as the manner, turned Carolina’s football season around again, and what once seemed like pulling a rabbit out of a hat is more of a dead rabbit.

The Tar Heels were ill-prepared and poorly outplayed by a team that now has the same record (6-5 and 3-4) but is far from the controversy that will once again engulf Mack Brown’s program.

Brown told some people last week, perhaps ill-advisedly, that he plans to continue coaching next season. If his 16th team at UNC hasn’t worn out its welcome, that welcome is still under review. And the only thing that can prevent the anti-him sentiment from taking over is a win on Saturday against NC State, which is supported by the following circumstances.

A bowl bid is on the line for the 5-6 Wolfpack.
State will be looking for its fourth straight win against its arch-rival and its second straight win at Kenan Stadium.
Although the team had an ACC record of 2-5, with losses in its last two games against Georgia Tech and Duke, it played better against the competition than UNC, Florida State at 2-9 and Wake Forest at 4-7 before being defeated by BC 41-21 (which was 41-7 with 2:00 left to play).
And of the two teams’ opposing former reserve quarterbacks, State’s true freshman CJ Bailey is playing better football than Jacolby Criswell over the last two weeks. After Thursday night’s 1-point loss at Georgia Tech, Bailey boldly predicted a win over the Tar Heels.

Of course, the Tar Heels could reverse most of those incentives to keep State from going bowling if Carolina is eligible, end the Pack’s losing streak and let Criswell, its offensive line and the defense play better of late – which is also happening reversed his improvement in Boston compared to last month.

Before the Tar Heels scored two late touchdowns, their only points came from a 95-yard kickoff return by sophomore Chris Culliver, a third-string special teamer who played because Nate McCollum and Darwin Barlow were injured.

The Eagles celebrated the 40th anniversary of their fifth-place 1984 team beating Miami with a Hail Mary pass from Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie to Gerard Phalen, the combo that took part in the ceremony after the first quarter. If it sounds like BC has more football tradition than UNC, it is with a rebounding program under 55-year-old “hometown” head coach Bill O’Brien.

After taking a 10-0 lead, BC had completed 26 plays from scrimmage to Carolina’s five. By halftime the lead had grown to 24-7, with Culliver’s gem giving the Heels their only points. And it would stay that way until freshman Davion Gause’s two late touchdowns. At that point, star running back Omarion Hampton had already given up after 53 yards on 11 carries against BC’s well-positioned defense.

UNC’s Omarion Hampton was under pressure Saturday against Boston College in a way rarely seen during his three-year star run at the Tar Heels’ helm. (Photo via UNC Athletic Communications.)

Brown was, as always, matter-of-fact after the game, saying, “We’ll watch the game on the plane on the flight home, meet on Sunday and try to figure out what we did wrong and do better next week.”

Although Brown remains popular with UNC’s alumni and fan base, he is viewed as an index of misery by the rest of the football world. The USA Today article by Dan Wolken is headlined: “North Carolina faces Mack Brown problem if coach doesn’t leave.”

“Brown will apparently play the same game he played 11 years ago, when it was clear to everyone but him that Texas was over. Instead of a dignified farewell and handoff to the next generation, Brown will force North Carolina to fire him,” Wolken wrote.

It might actually be more complicated now than it was in Texas, where millions were spent to buy him out at age 62. Brown worked for ESPN for five seasons until he saw the need for UNC to bring him back and fix a floundering program under Larry Fedora. His actual buyout at Carolina is worth less than $4 million, but both parties want a happy ending in which Brown and his wife Sally can continue to live in Chapel Hill, where Mack could perhaps take a fundraising job that could help the university out of a serious bankruptcy. Puzzle that affects the entire sports program.

Brown has already changed his role to be more than just a football coach. Wolken writes: “At 73 years old, Brown still believes he is the best person on planet Earth to be North Carolina’s head coach. He’s wrong, of course, incredibly wrong. Embarrassingly wrong, as Saturday’s loss to Boston College showed.”

It’s hard to believe that another coach – perhaps younger and more familiar with the current game – couldn’t do a better job than Browns coordinators Chip Lindsey and Geoff Collins, who both make $1 million a year. Lindsey’s offense, limited to 212 yards at BC, did not convert a third or fourth down until early in the second half and never resolved the plan to stop Hampton. Collins’ defense reverted to its poor performances against better teams, allowing 9 of 20 conversions on third and fourth downs and giving up 422 total yards.

The millions that Brown siphoned from Bubba Cunningham and the university board of trustees to upgrade football facilities will become irrelevant, as will UNC’s ongoing talks about building a new half-billion-dollar basketball arena. All of this now counts less than the question of how well the teams actually play in these stadiums and arenas Are – and NIL has replaced brand recruitment as the brand’s top priority when it comes to signing the best athletes.

Wolken’s harshest words still speak the truth: “That old men cling to power even when all evidence suggests they should relinquish it and spend the rest of their days enjoying the spoils of a life’s work is a story that “As old as time is.” Unfortunately, Brown is no exception.”

The debate subsides with every victory and every defeat, because that’s still what it’s all about. As with UNC in his first stint and certainly with Texas during its national championship run, Brown has a relatively small list of powerful people on his side. Cunningham, on the other hand, has to answer to a larger (if less influential) group of donors who want results for their money. Brown has moved the needle just enough in his last six seasons to prevent the two sides from coalescing.

A much-needed win over NC State and in the bowl game that follows will likely keep Brown in his job. But if the team fails to compete again and suffers a fourth straight loss to the Wolf Pack, it could be a win in the long run.

Featured image by Todd Melet

Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including bestsellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has been a contributor to the WCHL for decades, making his first appearance as a student in 1971 The “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his opinion column “Art’s Angle” appears weekly on Chapelboro.

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