UNC Football Previews: Coaching

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty ImagesIt’s hard to know how to attribute the blame for the colossal disappointment that was last season; I think if you asked 10 reasonably knowledgeable UNC fans you’d get at least 8 different answers. Was the offensive line, near-worst at pass-protection in the country, most at fault? Was it a defense that constantly seemed confused on what to run and seemed to be breaking down constantly? Was it a quarterback who’d been buoyed to success by NFL-level skill talent the previous year and was showing some warts when asked to make things happen on his own strength, despite an offense that was statistically still quite good? Or maybe it was on the sidelines? Mack Brown’s second tenure has become infamous for bad in-game and time management as much as anything else, and at least 2 of UNC’s losses can be put pretty squarely on Brown’s in-game coaching foibles, so that’s maybe something to think about. Or maybe the issues ran deeper — we as fans don’t have much of a look into the locker room or coaching meetings to diagnose issues there, but Josh Downs’ comments at ACC Media Days earlier this year about some teammates who couldn’t get motivated to play, as well as Brown at the same event recalling lacksadaiscal practices where his players didn’t hustle even when called out, hint at a coaching staff that had lost at least part of the locker room. The Heels were 111th out of 130 FBS teams in penalties per game, so that points to some disconnect between players and staff, at the very least, if not simply a head coach that isn’t doing his job.

…