Brown intends to return to Tar Heels next season

North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Monday that he intends to return to the Tar Heels next season, although he has not yet had any discussions about his future with athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

Brown, 73, was asked during his weekly news conference about his future and said, “You never talk to your athletic director until the year’s over. Everybody always does that. My total focus is on NC State. What an awful thing to be talking about me when we just played a bad game and need to beat State.”

Asked directly whether it was his intention to return, Brown said, “Yes.”

North Carolina heads into its rivalry game against the Wolfpack at 6-5, off a noncompetitive 41-21 loss to Boston College. The season has been a roller coaster, to say the least. After a 70-50 loss to James Madison on Sept. 21, Brown told his Tar Heels he would walk away if the team felt he could no longer do the job. From that point forward, his job status has been the subject of speculation — particularly through a four-game slide that had North Carolina 3-4 headed into an open date.

The Tar Heels then had to deal with the loss of receiver Tylee Craft, who died 2½ years after being diagnosed with cancer. In a recent interview with ESPN, Brown said his perspective changed after losing Craft.

“I realized at that time the team needed me more than ever before. So, probably more than any other time in my career, in my life, I feel like these kids and these coaches need me to step up and be strong and try to help them learn to navigate through these storms and this turmoil,” Brown said.

North Carolina then won three in a row, and reports surfaced last week that he intended to stay with the Tar Heels. But the loss to BC revived the speculation about his future.