As North Carolina head football coach Mack Brown walked out of Bank of America Stadium in early December, he was far more optimistic about the program than a 29-point loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game would suggest.
The Tar Heels’ performance in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon this past week confirmed what Brown was thinking as he wraps up the fourth season of his second tenure in Chapel Hill.
“Clemson didn’t physically beat us down so as bad as that score was — because of three turnovers — I walked out of there saying, ‘You know what? We’re making progress,’ ” Brown said. “We’re getting better because Clemson’s as good as anybody in the country.”
In the 21 seasons between the end of Brown’s first tenure at UNC and the beginning of his second, the Heels won nine or more games just once, and averaged a mediocre 5.8 wins per season.
Through that lens, Brown said their 9-5 record and winning just their second-ever Coastal Division championship should be the focus, not the four-game losing streak that ended the season.
The Heels went unbeaten on the road, winning six games for the first time in program history, and got better at winning the close games: Six of their wins were in one-score contests. That’s why Brown believes the program is close to being where he wanted it heading into Year 5.
“It’s really close, we could have 12 (wins) as easy as nine,” Brown said. “We could have won four. But two years ago, we would have won four. And that’s why we’ve made so much progress.”
Once again, the optimism for next season begins at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Drake Maye had a historic 2022 season, setting a new single-season record at UNC with 4,321 passing yards. He also tied Sam Howell for the school’s single-season record of 38 touchdown passes.
Maye will play an instrumental part in whether Carolina can take that next step, and because of that, Brown sought his input before hiring an offensive coordinator to replace Phil Longo, who had served in that capacity for four seasons.
“I want us to be the same passing game with fewer sacks, fewer tackles for loss, and a better running game and more production with touchdowns in the red zone,” Brown said. “That’s it. I’ve been saying that for four years. That’s what I want.”
In hiring Chip Lindsey from UCF, Brown said he has someone who can teach the quarterback position, but also get the running game back performing at a high level.
The running game is one of the ways the Heels plan on getting Maye help on offense. Maye should not again be in a position where he leads the team in rushing as his 698 yards did this season.
Carolina expects to return its entire backfield and add British Brooks, who missed the entire season after tearing his ACL during fall camp.
The Heels will welcome a pair of new receivers from the transfer portal in Devontez Walker from Kent State and Nate McCollum from Georgia Tech. Rising sophomore Kobe Paysour could also be headed for a breakout year after playing a reserve role this season. Paysour’s 29 receptions are the second-most of the returning cast behind tight end Bryson Nesbit’s 35.
In his first year, defensive coordinator Gene Chizik’s unit was defined early in the season for allowing 40 points in the fourth quarter against Appalachian State. And though it did make improvements during the season, it is the unit that will see the biggest changes. That could also include staff.
“Defensively, I told the coaches but we’re gonna take a break,” Brown said. “We’ve got kids coming in on January 6 and then I will sit down with Gene and get his thoughts and I’ll sit down with each coach individually and go through the process and see what I think at that point.”
The Heels ended on a positive note, holding Oregon’s explosive offense that ranked fourth nationally in total yards per game to 414 yards, and just 14 points through three quarters.
But UNC couldn’t get the stop it needed on the Ducks’ two final drives that decided the game, allowing touchdowns both times.
Ten players on defense entered the transfer portal, including three in the secondary who started most games this season.
The Heels got great news when leading tackler Cedric Gray announced he’d return for his final season. The rising senior at linebacker consistently made plays for Carolina, but his leadership may be more important.
Brown has gone heavier in using the transfer portal, and the defense should reap immediate benefits. It adds three new members in the secondary that are transferring from within the ACC.
Safety Derrik Allen played at Georgia Tech and is the brother of freshman cornerback Marcus Allen, who started the last three games of the season. Cornerback Armani Chatman comes after starting 11 games this season at Virginia Tech. And linebacker/edge rusher Amari Gainer arrives after being one of Florida State’s leading tacklers the past two seasons.
“Even though people will say we didn’t finish right, we finished like we were all year,” Brown said. “We finished fighting our guts out at the end of the game, and you catch a ball, and you win it. You drop a ball, and you lose it. This is the way our team was. But a lot of people would like to swap their season for ours.”
