ACC Football

Well, nobody can accuse North Carolina of thinking small if the latest rumor surrounding its football program is true.

According to a Thursday report from Inside Carolina (h/t Grant Hughes of 247Sports), legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick interviewed with the Tar Heels regarding their head coaching vacancy. The position is open after the ACC program fired Mack Brown last month.

The report noted North Carolina also spoke with Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport seemingly confirmed the report:

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports added that "most are skeptical that [Belichick] would seriously consider coaching in the college game, even with the landscape shifting toward an NFL style model."

An NFL executive told Schultz "that he believes Belichick is being strategic, using this to push NFL teams to act faster and to make it widely known that he plans to return in 2025."

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the 72-year-old is "open to both the NFL and college football" and isn't "ruling anything out."

While it wouldn't be a shock to see Belichick back in coaching in 2025, it would be surprising to see him take the North Carolina job.

After all, his most notable experience has all come in the NFL ranks as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants and New York Jets in addition to his time as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.

Belichick's run as Patriots head coach is among the most successful in sports history, as he reached nine Super Bowls and won the Lombardi Trophy six times during his 24 seasons. He went 266-121 in that span and is widely considered one of the best coaches to ever be on the sidelines in the NFL.

While he will be 73 years old in April and had a losing record in three of his final four seasons with New England, he will surely generate plenty of interest from the professional level when more coaching vacancies present themselves.

Going to the college ranks in today's era of football would also mean juggling several things he is not accustomed to from his previous coaching stops.

In addition to the actual games, college coaches have to work around the clock on recruiting, searching the transfer portal, managing their roster in the hope of avoiding potential transfer departures and navigating the name, image and likeness era.

College coaches are paid quite handsomely for their work, but it would be a lot for Belichick to adjust to at this stage of his career.

North Carolina would also be something of a head-turning choice, as it is a solid program but nowhere near the blue-blood status it enjoys on the basketball court. It has won double-digit games just once since the 1997 season and went 6-6 in 2024.

Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in sports history, but this would be a rather unusual partnership at this stage.

When the College Football Playoff committee revealed their latest rankings on Tuesday, Miami landed in the No. 12 spot with Alabama one spot ahead of it.

The positioning likely means the Hurricanes will miss the 12-team CFP barring any reconsideration after conference championships this weekend. Miami star quarterback Cam Ward was not shy about his feelings about the committee's decision.

"I mean at the end of the day them boys who in that committee, I really doubt they watch tape or not," Ward said on the ACC Network on Wednesday (h/t On3's Thomas Goldkamp). "I mean you can't, I mean, we're a 10-2 team. Not saying Alabama's not a good team, which they are, but let's talk about them points. That's probably the biggest factor, I believe."

Ward pointed to Miami's offensive numbers while also arguing they're a balanced team.

"We've got a top 25 defense, which is actually one of the best defenses in the country," Ward said. "So both sides of the ball we're one of the best teams in the country. You talk about an offense who puts points on the board left and right, whether it's passing, whether it's throwing. We've got two great running backs in the backfield in Dame (Martinez) and Mark (Fletcher), so it's hard to leave that out."

He also took to social media to voice his frustration.

Ward and the Hurricanes were well on their way to reaching the College Football Playoff until November when they faced an upset loss to Georgia Tech. Their hopes of reaching the Playoff and the ACC Championship took a hit in their season finale when they fell to Syracuse.

Still, with two losses, it wasn't inconceivable for Miami to be included in the 12-team field. Three teams included in the top 11 have two losses and one team, Alabama, has three.

The committee ultimately favored the Crimson Tide over the Hurricanes, though, and now they can only hope something changes in their favor as they sit idly over the weekend.

Alabama has losses to unranked Vanderbilt, No. 7 Tennessee and unranked Oklahoma this year. The Tide's losses, in the committee's eyes, are outweighed by their wins as Alabama has taken down No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 19 Missouri and others.

On the contrary, Miami has not beaten any team currently ranked inside the top 25. It's best wins would likely be considered by most to be its 41-17 rout against Florida in Week 1 and a 52-45 win over Louisville.

Ward is not the first person to voice his frustration with the committee following Tuesday's ranking reveal. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement that he was "incredibly shocked and disappointed" by the decision to keep Miami out and said the Canes "absolutely deserves better from the committee."

On Saturday, SMU and Clemson will play for the ACC championship and an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. The winner of that game will likely be the conference's only team included in the new 12-team field. The SEC and Big Ten, as the rankings currently stand, will have eight teams combined in the Playoff.

Miami's hopes of an undefeated season crumbled over the past few weeks after the Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, but there was still belief they could find their way into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

When the rankings were revealed on Tuesday, Miami missed out on the No. 11 spot, which instead went to Alabama. Now the Hurricanes will likely miss the CFP unless the committee sees something that changes its mind this week.

The decision to put the Crimson Tide over Miami left ACC commissioner Jim Phillips "incredibly shocked and disappointed," he said in a statement, per ESPN. Phillips also said the Hurricanes "absolutely deserves better from the committee."

"As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips said.

If the rankings stand, the ACC will have just one representative in the CFP: the winner of the conference championship between SMU and Clemson. As it stands now, the SEC and Big Ten have four teams each in the Playoff.

Miami was a clear favorite to reach the College Football Playoff until its Nov. 9 loss to Georgia Tech. That loss hurt their chances, but making the 12-team field was still very realistic. Saturday's loss to Syracuse meant the Hurricanes would need plenty of grace from the committee.

Alabama, barring any major changes, will be the only three-loss team to make the field. The Crimson Tide have losses to Vanderbilt, No. 7 Tennessee and Oklahoma. The 24-3 loss to the Sooners two weeks ago is an especially bad stain on their resume.

One could argue that Alabama's wins make up for its losses, as the Tide have victories over No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 19 Missouri, LSU and more, which was likely the committee's reasoning for their placement.

Still, for Miami players, staff and fans, it's likely hard to understand the committee's thinking.

After a successful run with Nebraska over the last two years, defensive coordinator Tony White has found a new home.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Monday that White has agreed to join head coach Mike Norvell's staff at Florida State as its next defensive coordinator.

White will be replacing former Seminoles defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, who was among the team's firings following its 1-9 start to the 2024 season. He will be taking over a unit that allowed averages of 385.9 yards and 28.0 points per game this year. Florida State finished the regular season with a 2-10 record, its fewest amount of wins since 1974.

White joined Matt Rhule's staff at Nebraska prior to the 2023 campaign after multiple stops that included defensive coordinator roles with Syracuse and Arizona State. In his first year with the Cornhuskers, he led a unit that allowed just 92.9 rushing yards and 303.5 total yards per game, both of which were the best marks the program had seen in over a decade. He earned a nomination for the 2023 Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in the nation.

Nebraska performed at a similar level this year, allowing 105.8 rushing yards, 315.4 total yards and 19.8 points per game.

Prior to his coaching career, White was a three-year starter at linebacker for UCLA. After going undrafted in the 2002 NFL draft, he briefly signed with the practice squad for the Buffalo Bills before embarking on a three-year career in the CFL.

In addition to the hiring of White, Florida State also recently announced the hiring of former Auburn and UCF head coach Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator as Norvell continues to rebuild his staff.

The ACC announced Monday it fined North Carolina and North Carolina State for the on-field altercation that followed the Wolfpack's 35-30 victory over the Tar Heels.

Both schools received a "public reprimand" as well.

In what was a similar scene at multiple stadiums around the country, tempers flared when NC State players attempted to plant a flag into the turf at Kenan Stadium. North Carolina wide receiver J.J. Jones grabbed the flag pole and hurled it like a javelin toward the sideline.

This was far from an isolated incident.

In the most extreme case, Ohio State and Michigan were fined $100,000 each after their players got into a shoving match at Ohio Stadium. Police on the scene also used pepper spray, adding to the chaotic atmosphere.

For now, it's up to individual conferences to police themselves. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger a more uniform solution might be required to curb postgame celebrations that are perceived to cross a line.

"We have to collectively come together," he said. "We can do things independently as conferences, but we need to all come together, and our approach must be aggressive. This is unacceptable."

It doesn't appear that any suspensions will result from Saturday's incident with North Carolina and NC State. The ACC said in its release the conference "considers this matter closed."

The Wolfpack and Tar Heels have crossed paths more than 100 times on the gridiron, with the rivalry dating all the way back to 1894. The players need little in the way of added motivation to get up for this one every year.

Despite neither school meeting expectations, UNC and NC State both had some increased stakes for Saturday's installment.

The Tar Heels could've sent head coach Mack Brown out on a high after the school announced his ouster days earlier, and a win would've denied the Wolfpack bowl-eligibility. Instead, NC State got to 6-6 and ended Brown's second tenure in Chapel Hill with a loss.

North Carolina run game coordinator and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will be the Tar Heels' interim head coach for their bowl game, via Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

On Tuesday, North Carolina announced that head coach Mack Brown would not return for the 2025 season.

Kitchens has NFL head coaching experience, operating in the role for the Cleveland Browns in 2019. He also served as the New York Giants' offensive coordinator in 2021 and later joined the Tar Heels' staff in Feb. 2023.

"Freddie Kitchens is an incredibly talented coach who is respected by our student-athletes and staff,'' North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said as part of the announcement. "He is dedicated to doing all he can to help lead our program through this transition, and we appreciate his willingness to take on this role."

Brown was still allowed to coach North Carolina's regular-season finale, a 35-30 loss to NC State on Saturday.

He wasn't interested in sticking around for a bowl game, though.

"Great time for me to get out, this isn't the game I signed up for," Brown said after the loss, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I'm leaving it better than I found it."

Brown finished his second stint at Chapel Hill with a record of 44-33 since he took over in 2019 after previously coaching the Tar Heels from 1988-97. North Carolina fell to 6-6 in 2024 with Saturday's loss to the Wolfpack, though.

Kitchens led the Browns to a 6-10 record in his lone year as head coach, operating as Cleveland's offensive coordinator during the season prior. He spent 16 years in various coaching roles at the NFL level, making a Super Bowl XLIII appearance as part of the Arizona Cardinals' staff.

While the Tar Heels' exact bowl game and opponent are still unknown, Kitchens will now be patrolling the sidelines during the contest.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell was not happy with Florida's attempt to plant their flag in Tallahassee.

Norvell appeared to take the flag from a Florida player and fling it aside after the Seminoles' 31-11 loss at home on Saturday night.

Florida head coach Billy Napier spoke with a visibly agitated Norvell after the attempted flag plant, at which point Norvell appeared to ignore his proffered handshake amid mockery from college football fans.

Saturday night marked the first time in three seasons Florida State has lost the in-state rivalry game.

The Seminoles finished the season with a 2-10 record, the team's worst mark since Norvell took over the program in 2020.

Florida State finished each of the two previous seasons with winning records and bowl game appearances, including a 2022 Cheez-It Bowl win and a 13-win campaign in 2023.

The Seminoles were unable to mark the scoreboard while fumbling twice in the first half of Saturday night's home game.

Norvell's team scored their only touchdown of the night when the game was already out of reach late in the fourth quarter.

Napier and the Gators are meanwhile preparing for a bowl game after ending the season with wins over ranked opponents in LSU and Ole Miss followed by the rivalry victory on Saturday night.

The scuffle following Florida State's loss was not the only altercation following a college football game on Saturday. Michigan's upset of Ohio State and Arizona State's win over Arizona both led to post-game disagreements earlier in the day.

Mack Brown will not coach North Carolina's bowl game this season, he told reporters following the Tar Heels' 35-30 loss to NC State on Saturday.

The news comes after Brown, who was fired as UNC's head coach on Tuesday, said he was unsure if he would coach the team's bowl game despite still being allowed to coach Saturday's regular-season finale.

"Great time for me to get out, this isn't the game I signed up for," Brown said in his final postgame interview, per ESPN. "I'm leaving it better than I found it."

The Tar Heels' loss to NC State marks the final game for the program's winningest coach in history.

Despite the loss, which came on a late touchdown by NC State with under 30 seconds remaining, Brown expressed pride in his team for their performance given the circumstances.

"I'm absolutely amazed that they were able to compete like they did tonight and play as hard as they did, with all the pressure on them and with the uncertainty in their future," Brown said of his players, per ESPN. "So I'm really, really proud of them."

After Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham informed Brown of the program's decision not to move forward with him earlier this week, he was initially unsure if Brown would stay to coach the bowl game.

The veteran coach told reporters after the game that the chippy rivalry loss to the Wolfpack was "another sign from God that it's time to go" and added, "As far as the new coach goes, I will get out of the way," according to ESPN.

Brown had two separate stints with the Tar Heels, coaching from 1988 to 1997 and again from 2019 to 2024.

After the initial announcement that North Carolina was parting ways with him, Brown admitted it was not the "perfect time."

"While this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out, no time will ever be the perfect time," Brown said in a statement, according ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "I've spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships Sally and I have built while serving as head coach."

This will mark the fifth year in a row that the Tarheels will be bowl eligible.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown gave a shoutout to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney after No. 6 Miami suffered a 42-38 upset loss to the Orange on Saturday.

"Hey Dabo Swinney, congrats," Brown said after the win. "I got you in baby."

The 12th-ranked Tigers needed the Hurricanes to lose in order to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game and face No. 9 SMU. With Syracuse's win, Clemson advanced to the conference title game while Miami was left out.

The Tigers nearly missed the ACC title clash after suffering their own disheartening loss on Saturday, falling to No. 15 South Carolina by the score of 17-14. Instead, Clemson now has an opportunity to earn its ninth conference championship under Swinney.

Syracuse's defeat of Miami was far from easy, facing a 21-0 deficit in the first half. The Orange gained some momentum heading into halftime by scoring two consecutive touchdowns before trying the game in the third quarter.

It didn't take much longer for Brown's team to finally pull ahead, capitalizing on a fumble by Hurricanes wide receiver Xavier Restrepo.

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord entered the game as the nation's leading passer and continued to excel against a porous Miami secondary. McCord finished 26-of-36 for 380 yards and three touchdowns without getting picked off.

Brown was named head coach of the Orange ahead of the 2024 season after previously serving as the defensive backs coach at Georgia. He's exceeded expectations in his inaugural year with the team, as Syracuse reached nine wins for just the second time in 20 years and the first time since 2018.

With Miami's College Football Playoff hopes resting on the shoulders of the selection committee, Clemson and SMU are now set to face off with the ACC title on the line.

The conference championship clash will be on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET.