The business aspect of football is just as brutal as the action on the gridiron. Merely a day after HC Mack Brown revealed his intentions to continue coaching North Carolina in 2025, he’s been given the proverbial boot. NC have let go of their program’s celebrated coach even before the curtain closed on the season. Amid the discourse about what led to this abrupt decision, one bit of news surfacing offers up an explanation.

The dynamic around the finances in the CFB world are constantly evolving. A new proposal may now be around the horizon. The proposal creates a “spending cap” of about $22 Million for each Power 5 school. This would work similarly to the salary caps in pro sports such as the NBA and NFL. NIL compensation shall still be permitted under this proposal which, if passed, shall take effect from the 25/26 season on.

This relatively under-discussed revelation may well be a wrinkle dictating the way programs operate. For a program like North Carolina looking to revolutionize its football operations, this may be perceived as a way of getting ahead of the curve. Perhaps Mack Brown’s removal is a symptom of bigger changes on the horizon.

ESPN’s senior CFB analyst Heather Dinich shed some light on the matter. In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, she was asked by the namesake host if this potential ruling has any bearing on how programs such as NC operate. “I think until we know exactly what it looks like on paper and who’s getting what- and most importantly- how you enforce this,. keyword “enforce this” to me, is one of the most interesting things…Even athletic directors that I talked to as of yesterday are still trying to figure it out”, she said.

The open-ended nature of the reasons for Mack Brown’s predicament ensues. Things will become more apparent in due time. Speaking of time, North Carolina’s search for an ideal head coach will be a lengthy process too. At Least that is what Heather Dinich seems to believe.

Heather Dinich gives her assessment of the UNC football program

During the show, Dinich was asked “how coveted” the UNC job is. To this, she replied, “ It’s good but it’s not great”. A storied program like UNC, embedded in history for producing perhaps the greatest athlete of his generation, not being an attractive proposition was shocking and almost unfathomable to McAfee.

Dinich further elaborated on why the Micheal Jordan factor doesn’t quite permeate from the hardcourt to the gridiron. “We’re not talking about basketball here. We’re talking about football. I think that when you’re trying to compete with the recruiting of the Clemsons and Miami’s of the world, [or even] Florida State, there’s a lot of catching up to do it feels like… It’s a great school, it’s a great academic school. But there’s just a lot of work to do. It’s not like you’re walking into a program that is set to compete at the top of the ACC. That’s my point”. 

Apart from the ACC, North Carolina also has to rub shoulders with the programs in the SEC and elsewhere for recruitment. With the advent of NIL, the middling faction of schools has quickly evaporated. CFB is very much in sink or swim territory. Mack Brown was just another one of its victims.