UNC’s Mack Brown says he made a huge mistake after upset loss

It was, truthfully, an unconscionable loss for North Carolina.

Heading into a home game against James Madison at 3-0, the Tar Heels were boat raced out of the building, ultimately losing, 70-50.

That’s the type of loss that will haunt a coach, and after the game, UNC head coach Mack Brown apparently took it terribly. That’s to be expected, but he went as far as to ask his players whether or not he should simply resign.

On Monday, Brown let the media know that he made a huge mistake by putting that type of pressure on their shoulders.

“As I was walking off the field, I thought ‘I’m responsible for all of this. It’s on me. So I should ask the players about leadership. If they feel good about me moving forward.’ That’s something I shouldn’t do. I shouldn’t put that pressure on those young people at that point,” Brown said, according to On3. “I’m supposed to be a leader, and probably the worst things I’ve ever said in my life are after losses. You all have heard most of them. And that’s just what I do.”

That’s, frankly, an excuse from Brown. Sure, you can’t teach an “old dog” new tricks but he’s been a head coach at the college level since 1985. He should know better than to put his players on the spot like that, but apparently, that’s how bad the loss was.

At the very least, Brown does know that he made the wrong move with his locker room. The good news is, his young and impressionable players do seem to still trust him, and they’re all ready to move on from James Madison and onto Duke.

“Disappointed in me. I should’ve waited,” Brown said. “But the kids were overwhelmingly, ‘Nah, come on, coach. Let’s go. Let’s move forward.’ And we’re doing that and excited about the future and love my job,” Brown said.