UNC's new interim head football coach Everett Withers says he's committed to "doing things right"

Some of the first words new UNC interim head football coach Everett Withers spoke to those present for his introductory press conference at the Kenan Football Center on Thursday were “I always wanted to be a Tar Heel growing up.”

While admitting he felt a mixture of emotions after accepting his first head coaching gig the night before, Withers said he was excited to get back to football, anxious to get his players on the field and saddened to see former head coach Butch Davis leave the program.

Then he addressed one of the biggest issues surrounding UNC football over the past year: accountability and winning the right way.

“We’re committed as a staff to doing things right,” Withers said. “We want to make sure we create an atmosphere here for our student athletes where they can succeed long past football. We’ve got to do a great job of holding our kids accountable.”

Withers, 48, is a Charlotte native. He first joined UNC for the 2008 season as defensive coordinator, where he’s served the past three years. His new position is his first head coaching job.

Intent on assuring fans that his staff would not compromise integrity for the sake of winning games, Withers continued to express confidence in his staff and players.

“One of the things I want to put out there to the Carolina football family is this — we’re going to be a good football team,” he said. “We have great football coaches on our staff and we have kids who are committed to playing hard and putting an exciting football team on the field.”

Withers says North Carolina’s players are just as eager to get back on the field as he is, saying he’d spoken to “35 or 40 players” thus far and that all of them were excited to move forward.

The new man at the helm of North Carolina football lauded his staff, adding that he wants to “stay out of their way.” To facilitate that, he plans to do his fair share of delegating, even with new defensive coordinator Art Kaufman.

“I’ll poke my head in every once in a while,” Withers said, noting that the defensive unit — which has been under his tutelage for the past three seasons — will be completely under Kaufman’s control.

Continuing to emphasize his hands-off approach and reluctance to modify the program’s structure from the way Davis shaped it, Withers said he wouldn’t make any changes schematically.

While that should help ease the on-field transition for the Tar Heels, Withers is also prepared for the transition that may prove more difficult for his staff and players — the shift from a longtime head coach in Davis to himself, a veteran assistant coach who’s getting his first shot to lead a program. Not to mention the unusual circumstances surrounding that program.

“We won’t flinch as a football staff or a football team,” Withers said. “We’ve been through an awful lot already, and nothing that can come at us now will bother us. We will play hard, we will play with class, we’ll make the lettermen proud, and we’ll make the Carolina family proud.”

Withers had an answer for every question tossed his way Thursday. In the coming months, North Carolina fans will see if he has an answer for the riddle of how to win on the gridiron in Chapel Hill.

“I can tell you, it’s been a special place for us so far and we hope to be able to stay a long time,” Withers said.

“I just want to reach out to the alums, the lettermen and our fans and say that this is just the beginning.”

Clarification: An earlier version of this story did not accurately portray the meaning of one of Withers’ statements at the press conference. It has been changed to reflect the clarification.