Following North Carolina football's brutal 70-50 Week 4 loss to James Madison, more chaos ensued with head coach Mack Brown. Inside Carolina reported that Brown was emotional and told his team he was stepping down. However, hours later, a source close to the program stated that Brown had no plans of resigning or quitting his coaching position.

Brown told ESPN's Chris Low on Saturday he’s not resigning and “will be back at work” Sunday. He said that the locker room was emotional and told the team he blamed himself. Brown also said he would step away if he couldn’t get things straightened out.

The news came as a shock, especially given Brown's experience as a college coach. He's won 279 total games between three different universities, and 110 of those with North Carolina. Brown is only 1-4 in bowl games since arriving in Chapel Hill, with his only bowl win in 2019.

Why did North Carolina HC Mack Brown almost resign after Week 4 loss?

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium.
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They have dealt with quite a bit through the season. In Week 1, North Carolina football lost starting quarterback Max Johnson for the season. Although they were undefeated before Saturday's loss, how they lost was humiliating. The Tar Heels allowed 53 points in the first half. That's more than they allowed in the previous two games combined.

The loss also marks the eighth time they have lost as a double-digit favorite since 2019. It was also the fourth time they had lost by double digits as a double-digit favorite in the second Brown era. Not to mention, James Madison is not in a Power-5 conference. Despite the Dukes being more than a respectable team, allowing 70 points to any opponent isn't ideal.

Brown has also dealt with an unstable conference in the ACC. Both Clemson and Florida State have threatened to leave the ACC. Regardless, the Tar Heels still have one of the top coaches throughout college football. They'll play Week 5 in their first conference game against the Duke Blue Devils with Brown still running the program.