North Carolina Tar Heels give Mack Brown, assistants contract extensions

North Carolina has extended head coach Mack Brown's contract through the 2025 season, putting the Hall of Fame coach on pace to still be on the sideline at age 74.

UNC also extended the contracts of all 10 of Brown's on-field assistants, the school announced Monday, with all getting three-year deals.

"We're proud of what our football program has accomplished over the last two seasons," athletics director Bubba Cunningham said. "Carolina football is on a great trajectory, and much of that can be credited to our coaches. We've worked hard to build continuity with this staff, and we're seeing the benefits of that on the field, in recruiting, and in the community. We are excited to watch this talented coaching staff continue to lead this program forward."

Brown is set to earn $3.5 million per year throughout the life of the contract.

Brown had coached UNC from 1988 through 1997 before heading to Texas, where he won a national championship, but he'd been out of coaching for five years before the Tar Heels brought him back after the 2018 season to replace Larry Fedora.

The move was initially met with skepticism due to Brown's late struggles at Texas, and at age 67, he was the second-oldest head coach in FBS behind Ohio's Frank Solich.

Brown proved the skeptics wrong, however, quickly turning the Tar Heels into a contender. Brown's Tar Heels won seven games his first season after securing just five victories total in the previous two years. In 2020, UNC finished 8-4, was ranked as high as fifth in the AP poll, and ended its season with a berth in the Orange Bowl.

"Because [wife] Sally and I love UNC and Chapel Hill so much, this is the only place we'll coach, and we plan on doing that as long has we're having fun, impacting the young men in our program, and giving Carolina football the best chance to win," Brown said in a statement. "We also wanted to ensure that our coaching staff's compensation is consistent with our competitors, so we can achieve the stability we believe helps in developing a consistent winner. We're receiving great support for our football program, which has made our staff one of the most stable in the nation."