The Mack Brown era in North Carolina has reached an unceremonious end. Mere hours prior, Brown publicised his intent to continue working in his capacity. But CFB head coaching is perpetually a precarious situation. A football savant of his ilk would be the first one to tell you that. UNC made the rather cold-blooded call to give their most successful HC his marching orders. The search for a successor now ensues.

With widespread and perhaps astray discourse about potential candidates, the fans needed someone who’s got his finger on the pulse. Josh Pate sure fits that description. The renowned analyst often has his sources on the inside. That appears to be the case with UNC and their pursuit for a head coach.

Josh Pate took to his YouTube show to discuss names he believes are in the reckoning. He believes one fellow media personality is raring to get back on the sidelines. “Dan Mullen’s name, I think, will be tied to this. There’s been a pretty widely held belief in the industry that Dan Mullen has looked at this job and has thought it to be interesting”, he claimed.

Dan Mullen is the former Florida Gators HC who currently works as a CFB broadcaster for ABC and ESPN. Pate also brought up other contenders and possible adversaries to Mullen. “I think there would be big interest from a Barry Odom, who has done great things at UNLV. I think John Sumrall at Tulane is a future superstar, wherever he goes at the Power level. Alex Golesh is another name that’s very high on my list. I haven’t heard Golesh specifically tied to this job. The other three, I kind of have…and that’s just by kicking around a few rocks today. I’m sure there will be many more names that surface here”, remarked Pate.

With so many names in the fray, it would be fair to assume that the search is still in its infancy. There are a plethora of great candidates that are coveted- But is this notion reciprocated? Is the UNC head coach job a great proposition or a bit of a poisoned chalice? Josh Pate and a fellow CFB expert are at odds regarding this.

Josh Pate and Heather Dinich hold conflicting opinions of UNC football

The UNC football program is difficult to assess. As much as it tries, the gridiron can’t seem to escape the shadow cast by former activities on the hardcourt. For a school that nurtured Michael Jordan, that dilemma is rationalised. ESPN senior CFB analyst Heather Dinich believes this plays a part in her stance- that UNC football’s inability to compete financially with its competition outside as well as in-house makes the job “good, but not great”.

On the other hand, Josh Pate thinks on the contrary. He is of the belief that the foundation Mack Brown has set is a great platform for the next person who walks in. He said, “Someone’s walking into a really good situation. I texted back and forth with a few coaches today. A couple of them who could be up for this job. Many more of them are totally set where they’re at, and they already have better jobs than in North Carolina. You would not believe how highly thought of the North Carolina job is.”

Mack Brown leaves UNC under a somewhat dark cloud. However, this is mainly due to the nature of how he leaves. There have been hints about why the powers that be got rid of Mack Brown. Whoever they decide to replace him with, the program stands at the precipice of a new dawn. Fans hope the beautiful UNC blue will have the sun gleam on it soon.