Brown is eager to ‘fix things’ in taking over North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. >> Mack Brown knows there are many problems to solve as he returns to North Carolina, from stopping the Tar Heels’ deepening downturn on the field to improving shaky recruiting and hiring a coaching staff.
“It gives us an opportunity to fix things,” Brown said during a Tuesday news conference. “And we love to fix things.”
The school officially announced Tuesday that it had hired Brown, who led the Tar Heels to a strong 1990s run before winning a national championship at Texas. He reached a five-year deal that will pay him $3.5 million annually to replace Larry Fedora, who was fired Sunday after seven seasons.
Brown, 67, had his familiar affable demeanor Tuesday in his return to the program he coached from 1988-97, rattling off a long to-do list that included meeting with his new players after the news conference.
Brown’s last two UNC teams finished in the top 10 nationally, then he spent 16 years with the Longhorns before his 2013 exit as the program stumbled. He has worked in broadcasting in recent years.
Yet he also said he wanted to hold out for a fit that would “feel right,” noting his wife, Sally, said she would be OK with moving to Hawaii, the Bahamas or returning to Chapel Hill. There was no hesitation, he said, about coming back, saying: “I’m so excited about starting over with young people I don’t know.
“The team has a void, they lost their coach,” Brown said. “They had some very difficult games this year. Well, Sally and I have a void because we haven’t had a team for a number of years now.”
Family of UCF’s Milton says QB recovering from nerve damage
ORLANDO, FLA. >> The family of Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton says he has nerve damage in his right leg, but “blood flow has been restored” and he is recovering from the injury suffered during UCF’s last game. Milton was carted off the field during the first half of the Knights’ victory at rival South Florida on Friday.
The family says the nerve in Milton’s leg was “injured but intact.”