North Carolina

North Carolina football job profile: Pluses, minuses and candidates to replace Mack Brown

Published

1 year ago

November 27, 2024

The North Carolina job is open. Mack Brown was fired on Tuesday, a day after saying he intended to return next season. Turns out, the school wanted to go in a new direction. Brown will still coach the finale against NC State.

Brown is the winningest coach in UNC history and took the Tar Heels to a bowl in each of the six seasons in his second stint, after a decade in Chapel Hill from 1988 to 1997. But that second stint produced a 44-32 overall record. North Carolina lost at least five games in all but one of those seasons, never reaching the highs of Brown’s first run. Many people in the industry had their eyes on this job opening, given Brown’s age and his express consideration of retirement earlier in the season after a 70-50 loss to James Madison, comments he walked back the next week.

This is the first Power 4 opening on the coaching carousel and one that expects to get a ton of interest regardless of how the rest of the cycle plays out.

So how good is the North Carolina job? What names could get in the mix? Based on conversations with industry sources, here is a breakdown of the job and the potential names to watch.

Recent history/tradition: B

The potential has always felt bigger here than the reality. UNC has reached 14 bowl games since 2008, but the Tar Heels have won 10 games in a season just once since the final year of Brown’s first stint. Brown twice left the program better than he found it, but he never won a conference title. The program’s last ACC title came in 1980, a stunningly long time. Is there really potential to unlock for this program located in a great recruiting region with a national brand? Or is simply going to bowl games all UNC football is?

On-field outlook: B+

Junior running back Omarion Hampton is one of the best running backs in the country, with nearly 1,500 rushing yards this year, but he could be NFL-bound. The Heels have struggled to pass the ball, in part because transfer quarterback Max Johnson was lost for the season with a broken leg in Week 1. Johnson said he planned to return in 2025, but how will Brown’s departure impact things?

UNC is fourth in the ACC and 22nd nationally in 247Sports’ Team Talent rankings, which uses high school recruiting rankings. The incoming recruiting class ranks fourth in the ACC and 26th nationally, but that could change with Brown out. There is talent here, but in the portal era, it’s impossible to know how much stays and how much a new coach will change.

Still, the program operates in a recruiting area flush with good players, especially defensive linemen, and UNC has done a really good job developing quarterbacks over the past decade.

Money matters: B+

Brown’s $5 million salary ranked 42nd in the country, but UNC wasn’t competing with other schools for his services and can pay a lot more, and his $2.8 million buyout isn’t much. If this remains a quiet Power 4 coaching carousel, perhaps UNC won’t need to compete with many others in its search for a replacement this time around, either. UNC is third in the ACC in football spending, according to Sportico’s database, but quite a bit behind Florida State and Clemson.

Brown and UNC have been behind much of the country when it comes to NIL and transfers. Heading into a revenue sharing era, UNC needs a coach who will actively navigate that world, something Brown didn’t do as much. Other schools have been coming into the state, spending money and getting the best players. UNC has commitments from just two of the top 10 recruits in the state, per 247Sports.

University stability: B+

UNC just hired a new president this summer after its previous president left for Michigan State in an awkward departure. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham has been in charge since 2011 and is one of the most respected voices in the sport, one who talks openly about the changes to college football and how to approach them. But the alignment from top to bottom hasn’t always been there for football, and it’s needed more than ever with revenue sharing ahead.

Florida State and Clemson’s lawsuits to attempt to get out of the ACC have shaken up the league, but it’s still hard to know when a resolution could come. If the ACC were to become destabilized, UNC could actually be the most attractive potential target for the Big Ten or SEC.

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Coach pool: A-

Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has been destined for a Power 4 job since he turned Troy into an immediate winner. Sumrall is 32-6 as a head coach at Troy and Tulane, with four of those losses coming to Power 4 opponents and one coming on a Hail Mary from Appalachian State. He replaced Willie Fritz at Tulane and didn’t miss a step despite the departure of key players. But the Green Wave are set to play in the AAC Championship Game and still have a path to the College Football Playoff. Could that timeline impact Sumrall’s availability?

Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell is 42-9 as a head coach since 2020, winning at least 11 games three times across stints at Coastal Carolina and Liberty, including a Fiesta Bowl appearance last year. The East Tennessee native has won big everywhere he’s been and runs an exciting offense. His lack of Power 4 experience has hurt his candidacy for some SEC jobs, but he has shown at Liberty he can take advantage of resources. He also might have a conference championship to play for.

UNLV head coach Barry Odom is 18-7 in two seasons with the Rebels, the best run for the program in half a century. They hadn’t won more than eight games in a season in 40 years. Odom has made smart staff hires and improved from his 25-25 run as Missouri head coach. He, too, could have a conference championship game to play in.

Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann has been Kirby Smart’s right-hand man at Georgia and Alabama, winning a lot of national championships. The 34-year-old has been getting in the mix for more head coaching jobs and would bring a winning pedigree.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has done a really good job since arriving in South Bend in 2022, leading a defense that is third nationally in yards per play allowed and finished fifth last year. As a head coach, he took Temple to two seasons of eight-plus wins in the late 2000s after decades of losing. He went 32-25 as Miami head coach while dealing with NCAA penalties from the previous staff, and he spent 2016 to ’21 in the NFL.

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a former UNC player and graduate assistant, and the former Atlanta Falcons head coach has been in the NFL since 2011. He has ties to the program and has some people in his corner. Smith is also the son of billionaire FedEx founder Fred Smith, and remember that FedEx recently committed $25 million in NIL money to Memphis over five years. Perhaps Smith could get some money flowing to the Tar Heels.

Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen has been floating around some openings in recent years while working for ESPN, waiting for a good job. He’s 103-61 as a head coach, took Mississippi State to a No. 1 ranking and reached three New Year’s Six bowls in four years at Florida. He’s a good offensive mind who has won national championships; he just couldn’t recruit at an SEC level before NIL took off. But UNC hired Brown out of the TV booth. Would it do that a second time in a row?

Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks is from Charlotte and worked with the Carolina Panthers for six seasons. He most recently helped out at Charlotte as a volunteer advisor this season. He previously coached in college as Missouri’s defensive coordinator in 2021.

Army head coach Jeff Monken continues to win at a tough job, winning at least nine games in a season five times since 2017. The Black Knights are 9-1 this year and were recently a Top 25 team. Monken has made clear he doesn’t have to be a triple-option coach elsewhere, and Ken Niumatalolo’s success at San Jose State this year should help get that stigma off of service academy coaches.

Overall grade: B+

The upside has always been here, but coaches have rarely tapped into it. That won’t discourage anyone from feeling they’re the person who can finally unlock the potential. This should be one of the best jobs in the ACC, and if the infrastructure can improve to match the right coach, we’re still going to believe this can be a big-time program.

(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)

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North Carolina

Statewide tornado drill has NC schools and workplaces practicing safety

Published

5 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Statewide tornado drill has NC schools and workplaces practicing safety

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 6:41PM

NC schools and businesses encouraged to practice tornado safety

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina schools and businesses took part in a statewide tornado drill Wednesday morning as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week.

The National Weather Service led the drill at 9:30 a.m., broadcasting it on NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System. Schools, workplaces and households across the state were encouraged to join in.

The National Weather Service didn’t issue a follow up alert to mark the end of the drill. Instead, each school or business wrapped up once they felt they had practiced the procedures thoroughly.

Wednesday’s drill also replaced the regular weekly NOAA Weather Radio test.

SEE | New warning for parents amid new ‘fire-breathing’ social media trend

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North Carolina

North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee holds narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam

Published

17 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee holds narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam

Nida Allam in 2022; Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in 2025.

Jonathan Drake/Reuters; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Jonathan Drake/Reuters; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee holds a narrow lead over challenger Nida Allam in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional district as ballots continue to be counted.

In a race seen as an early test of whether Democratic voters desire generational change within the party, Foushee holds a lead of just over 1,000 votes with 99% of results in so far, according to the Associated Press.

Under state law, provisional votes will be counted in the coming days in a district that includes Durham and Chapel Hill. If the election results end up within a 1% margin, Allam could request a recount.

Successfully ousting an incumbent lawmaker is often extremely difficult and rare. However, there have been recent upsets in races as some voters are calling for new leaders and several sitting members of Congress face primary challengers this cycle.

Allam, a 32-year-old Durham County Commissioner, is running to the left of Foushee, 69, framing her candidacy as part of a broader rejection of longtime Democratic norms.

On the campaign trail, Allam ran on an anti-establishment message, pledging to be a stronger fighter than Foushee in Congress, both in standing up against President Trump’s agenda and when pushing for more ambitious policy.

“North Carolina is a purple state that often gets labeled red, but we’re not a red state,” she told NPR in an interview last month, emphasizing the need to address affordability concerns. “We are a state of working-class folks who just want their elected officials to champion the issues that are impacting them.”

She drew a contrast with the congresswoman on immigration, voicing support for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Foushee has declined to go that far, advocating instead for ICE to be defunded and for broader reforms to the federal immigration system.

Allam also clashed with Foushee over U.S. policy towards Israel. As a vocal opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza, Allam swore off campaign donations from pro-Israel lobbying groups, such as AIPAC, and repeatedly criticized Foushee for previously accepting such funds.

Though Foushee announced last year that she would not accept AIPAC donations this cycle, she and Allam continued to spar over the broader role of outside spending in the race.

Their matchup comes four years after the candidates first squared off in 2022, when Allam lost to Foushee in what became the most expensive primary in the state’s history, with outside groups spending more than $3.8 million.

However, this year is poised to break that record. Outside groups have reported spending more than $4.4 million on the primary matchup, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

WUNC’s Colin Campbell contributed to this report.

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North Carolina

Building for tomorrow’s storms: North Carolina updates flood strategy

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Building for tomorrow’s storms: North Carolina updates flood strategy

North Carolina is beginning to plan for floods that have not happened yet.

State officials this year advanced the next phase of the state’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint, incorporating updated modeling that factors in heavier rainfall, future development and sea-level rise — a shift away from relying solely on historic data and FEMA’s regulatory maps.

“We can make decisions and plan for that future, not just the exposure to flooding that we see now,” said Stuart Brown, who manages the Flood Resiliency Blueprint for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

For a state that has endured record-breaking rainfall from Hurricane Helene in the mountains to Tropical Storm Chantal in the Triangle, the move reflects a growing recognition: past standards no longer capture present risk.

Beyond outdated flood lines

Multiple North Carolina studies have found that between 43% and 60% of flood damage occurs outside FEMA’s regulatory flood zones. Those maps shape insurance requirements and local zoning decisions, yet they are largely based on historical rainfall data.

“A lot of the regulatory floodplains really haven’t kept up with what we know is happening,” said Elizabeth Losos, executive in residence at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability.

Climate data show rainfall intensity in the Triangle has increased by about 21% since 1970. Warmer air holds more moisture, fueling heavier downpours that overwhelm drainage systems designed for a different climate.

“Fixing what we know is flooding right now is good,” Losos said. “It’s better than nothing, but it’s definitely not enough.”

Brown said the blueprint incorporates projections for future precipitation and development — a critical factor in one of the fastest-growing states in the country.

“Development can be an issue for flooding in two categories,” Brown said. “One is when that development is occurring in areas that are flood prone. The other is when that development is done in ways that don’t account for the additional stormwater that will be produced.”

Thousands of projects, limited dollars

Unlike states that rely on massive levee systems, North Carolina’s flood risk is scattered across river basins, coastal plains and rapidly developing suburbs. Brown said resilience here will require thousands of localized projects.

“We were asked by the General Assembly to provide specific, actionable projects,” Brown said. “We want to know what specific geography and what specific action is proposed.”

That planning push comes as federal support for flood research and mitigation is shrinking.

The Trump administration has proposed a roughly 30% cut to NOAA’s 2026 budget, targeting climate research and ocean services that provide the rainfall and coastal data states use to model flood risk. At FEMA, the administration has cut staff by more than 6%, reduced funding for local hazard mitigation projects and added new approval layers for grants.

For North Carolina, that means fewer dollars for buyouts, drainage upgrades and flood control projects — and less federal data to guide long-term planning — just as the state is trying to build a more forward-looking flood strategy.

Brown said North Carolina is trying to “leverage the limited dollars that we have in the state with any federal sources that are available” and embed resilience into routine investments in transportation, water treatment and conservation.

“Funding is always going to be an issue,” Brown said.

The policy gap

Researchers have long argued that resilience investments save money. Studies show every $1 spent on mitigation can yield $4 to $13 in avoided losses.

“The problem is that the policies don’t align the people who pay the cost with the people who get the benefit,” Losos said.

A developer may not directly benefit from downstream flood reduction. A town may shoulder upfront infrastructure costs while insurers, neighboring communities or future taxpayers capture part of the savings.

Without policy changes that align costs and benefits, resilience can remain politically and financially difficult.

“In the most severe cases, there are some communities that will have to eventually abandon if they don’t begin to think about how they can adapt to these conditions,” Losos said.

North Carolina now has updated tools to better measure future flood risk. Whether the state can secure stable federal support — and align its own policies with the risks ahead — will determine how effectively communities prepare for the next storm rather than recover from the last one.

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