All forced exits are awkward, but Mack Brown’s might just top most of them. Just days ahead of UNC’s regular-season finale, the greatest coach in Tar Heels’ football history was politely asked to leave — or, rather, told he would not be returning beyond 2024.

Kitchens, who served a year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, joined Mack Brown’s staff in February 2023.

North Carolina is officially done with the Mack Brown era and it has named the temporary replacement for the bowl game.