Column: The Mack Brown 2.0 era is over, but was it really ever an improvement?

After returning to UNC in 2018, one single phrase has represented head coach Mack Brown's sixth season. 

He said the phrase after the Tar Heels suffered their third straight loss to Pitt on Saturday. He said it after North Carolina squandered a 20-0 lead to Duke. And he said it even more after UNC gave up an astounding 70 points to JMU two weeks ago. 

In the past two weeks, he said the phrase a total of 21 times in press conferences. It's simple, but it's become Brown's crutch. 

"I don't know."

North Carolina called Brown back to Chapel Hill in November 2018 when the Larry Fedora era fell apart. The former head coach posted a 5-18 record in his last two seasons and was subsequently fired after he failed to build on the success of 2015-16 and UNC fell behind in recruiting. Brown took on the head coach role and looked to lead another North Carolina resurgence.

Credited with putting the Tar Heels on the map during his first stint as head coach from 1988-97, Brown looked to do something similar in his second tenure. And while his return has been headlined by five top-30 recruiting classes and the two best quarterbacks in school history, Sam Howell and Drake Maye, the expected resurgence has fallen flat. 

Five and half seasons into Brown 2.0, nothing has really changed. It probably never will. 

Brown 2.0 and Fedora have the same record, 41-30, through their first 71 games. During the head coaches' first five full seasons, Brown and Fedora led the Tar Heels to the same number of bowl game wins — one. What about Brown's ACC Coastal Division Championship title in 2022 and subsequent ACC Championship appearance? Fedora did the same thing in 2015. And both lost to the model ACC team in the championship game: Clemson. 

Both have had high-powered offenses that have been sabotaged by weak defenses. North Carolina's defense has ranked in the bottom five within the ACC since 2021 under three different defensive coordinators.

After resigning in 2017 following two seasons under Fedora, former defensive coordinator Gene Chizik was rehired by Brown in 2022 to replace former DC Jay Bateman, who gave up 32.1 points and ranked 105th in the nation in yards given up per game. 

Under Fedora, Chizik's defense ranked 96th in the nation. In 2022, Chizik's defense generated similar results, ranking 102nd out of 131 teams. 

And with the current defensive coordinator Geoff Collins' defense currently ranking 15th in the ACC and allowing 28.7 points per game, it's the same old, same old. 

With an unchanging defense, UNC sitting at a 3-3 record and no NFL-caliber quarterback to cover up the mistakes, Brown's sixth season appears to be rock bottom during his second stint. 

Following the 34-24 loss to Pitt with two missed opportunities in the red zone: Why wasn't the offense able to execute on those fourth down plays?

"I don't know," Brown said. "We'll go home and watch it right now and then we'll talk to them tomorrow."

After giving up 21 unanswered points to Duke — the second-largest comeback in Blue Devils' history — last week, the results elicited the same response. Why didn't North Carolina tackle in the second half after doing so well in the first? 

"I don't know," Brown said. "I wish I could answer it." 

Following the embarrassing loss to JMU, with rumors swirling about his retirement and whatever happened in the locker room postgame, Brown deflected technical questions about what happened to offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey and Collins. 

"Chip and Geoff are gonna come in here and tell y'all that in a minute."

Through every loss, mistake or confusing game-time decision, Brown hasn't had an answer for it. As a head coach, he should have those answers. 

And although most players, like graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell, are holding out hope and focusing on improving each week, graduate defensive back Alijah Huzzie admitted the locker room has felt the same after each loss. 

"Everybody's still questioning what's going on," Huzzie said. "But we're putting it together."

Brown has been searching for solutions and has come up short each time. 

As the Tar Heels continue their descent, it's time to start questioning whether the head coach is leading the team forward. And looking at his past six seasons, the question must be asked — has he changed anything at all? 

Well, I really don't know. 

@_emmahmoon

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