UNC Football: Mack Brown Cracks PFF Top 20 Coaches

UNC football head coach Mack Brown is entering his third season in his second stint with the program and the excitement level is at an all-time high in Chapel Hill.

The hype is finally real with everyone acknowledging that the UNC football program will be a threat this year. So far this off-season players and staff have been highlighted and praised by being named to different top lists among different media outlets.

Brown recently got his flowers, cracking the top 10 of Pro Football Focus lists, which ranked the 20 best active college football head coaches.

Every list is subjective, however, there’s nothing to object about Brown being named in the top 10. If anything, he may have a case to be listed higher.

A top 10 nod is well-deserved when you take a look at the tenure Brown has had in college football. Brown has coached for 32 years, including three years in Tulane, 16 years in Texas, and 13 years in Carolina, with his first go-round with the UNC football program in the ’90s. Among those in the top that have close to Browns’ tenure is Alabama’s Nick Saban with 26 years.

Brown also has the record to back him up with a win percentage of .665, which ranks 6th among those listed in the top 10. The reason Brown’s win percentage is so impressive is that on the major school level he’s coached 381 games in four different decades compared to some in the top like Lincoln Riley, who has an impressive .849 win percentage, however, he has only coached the last five years with just 53 games under his belt.

The biggest knock on Brown could be tied to his bowl record, which he is 14-9 in. Even with that knock, his .609 bowl win percentage is 6th best for those in the top 10, which is higher than Dabo Swinney’s (10-7) .588 bowl record win percentage. In Brown’s return to Carolina, after not coaching for six years, he’s 15-10 in regular season play and 1-1 in bowl games.

In the sports world there is a saying that asks, “What have you done for me lately?”, which could pinpoint why some may suggest that being ranked at 10th is fair. However, tenure, record, and overall impact speak differently. Perhaps holding a national title up as a U-N-C chant echos throughout will give Brown the respect that he’s already earned.

Be sure to check back with Keeping It Heel for coverage on the UNC football program.