By Mike Huesmann
So, North Carolina asked Mack Brown to retire, he said “no”, then he said he’d return in 2025, then UNC fired him. Did I get that right? Either way it’s probably time for a change in Chapel Hill. Much like it was when Mack left Texas.
Brown had some competitive teams with UNC with elite QB’s and they ran the ball well. His inability to field a competitive defense was always the Achilles heel. To put it bluntly, they have been bad on defense for years. This job should attract good names though and it is currently the only P4 head coaching vacancy. Here are five options for the Tar Heels.
https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1861431125429887418
Jamey Chadwell
Liberty, Head Coach
Jamey Chadwell is a fantastic coach who should already be a P4 head coach. His success at the FCS level, Coastal Carolina, and Liberty is unimpeachable. He is one of the best X’s and O’s guys in the game.
That being said, I don’t know if he’ll be the guy. I’d love the hire for North Carolina, but Liberty has not been performing well in the last few games. Playing a schedule where they should have zero or one losses and be dominating most games, they have not done that. This could turn some people off. That shouldn’t distract from the fact that he’s been a top-notch coach at multiple levels and teams.
https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/status/1861462237421928878
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Jon Sumrall
Tulane, Head Coach
Last year, Sumrall to Tulane was my favorite offseason hire. Sumrall should be coaching a P4 program by now. This was a major coup for the Green Wave after losing Willie Fritz. Sumrall was 23-4 in two years at Troy. He moved to a school with more resources and recruiting talent around it and is currently 9-2. This looks like a stepping stone for him. He is a guy that many P4 programs will vet if they have openings, I don’t expect too many of them this year, however. He’d be a good hire here.
https://twitter.com/JJGREENWAVE/status/1859790746561413133
Andy Kotelnicki
Penn State, Offensive Coordinator
Kansas was among the worst P5 teams in the country before Lance Leipold showed up and made Kotelnicki his OC. The resurgence they had is remarkable and a blue blood swooping in for the coordinators is expected in these cases.
Kotelnicki got a substantial raise to go to Penn State and the Jayhawk offense hasn’t been the same since he left. James Franklin, who seemed to ruin OC’s on the regular, may have struck gold with this guy. He finally has Drew Allar looking like the recruit we heard he was. It was only a matter of time before Kotelnicki got a head coach job and he will likely be able to skip the G5 and get his first head job at a P4 school.
https://twitter.com/RealCGriff/status/1857902951030751479
Jeff Monken
Army, Head Coach
Monken has shown he can coach and win with less talent, which will initially be the case at UNC as they learn a new system. The former Navy and Georgia Southern assistant also spent 4 years as the GSU head coach before going to West Point. Since arriving at Army in 2014 he has gone 79-56 while showing us recently that he is capable of shifting offensive philosophies and isn’t just a triple option guy. Monken could be a guy in the mix here.
https://twitter.com/CoachJeffMonken/status/1860052898379391128
Lincoln Riley
USC, Head Coach
Riley’s polarization hurts him in this list. That could also help him in this case. Things at USC have not gone well. Riley may feel that long term it is never going to work, if that is the case then the Trojan brass may be happy to just cut ties, so they avoid having to pay him a buyout in the future. I’m speculating a lot here, and I doubt this happens, but for UNC and Lincoln I’d like the idea. With Lincoln’s heavy contract I think that puts him on the 2025 hot seat, this move could solve that for both parties.
