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Friedlander: Why Matt Campbell, Eli Drinkwitz or Lincoln Riley make sense at UNC
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – The end of Mack Brown’s second tenure as North Carolina coach didn’t end gracefully.
At least in the end, Brown chose to take the high road on his way out of town.
“I agree with the administration that we need a change of leadership,” he said in his postgame comments following Saturday’s 35-30 loss to rival NC State, “I just wanted it to happen after the season is over.”
Now that the regular season is over and the winningest coach in program history has cleaned out his office, the Tar Heels’ focus has shifted from how his dismissal was handled to the search to find his successor.
Brown is leaving UNC in much better shape than he found it when he was hired to clean up the 2-9 mess left by his predecessor Larry Fedora in December 2018.
The Tar Heels will be making their 6th straight bowl appearance later this month. Brown won’t coach in that game.
With top-notch facilities, a competitive NIL budget and a conference affiliation that offers a realistic pathway to the College Football Playoff to more than just the privileged few – just ask SMU – it can be argued that UNC is the most attractive opening on the coaching carousel this cycle.
At least until Ohio State sends Ryan Day packing.
It’s an assertion reinforced by the number and quality of FBS head coaches (or their representatives) who have reached out to Cunningham with interest in the job.
So who’s next?
The process of elimination has already begun with Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator and UNC graduate Arthur Smith taking his name out of the running. Even though it’s doubtful that Cunningham had as much interest in Smith as Smith had in his alma mater.
While most of the lists of potential candidates have included the usual suspects – former Florida coach and ESPN analyst Dan Mullen, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell, UNLV’s Barry Odom and coordinators Glenn Schumann of Georgia and Garrett Riley of Clemson – the most viable candidates might be lurking just below the radar.
Let’s start with the qualifications.
UNC wants to go young and vibrant to update the grandfatherly vibe the 73-year-old Brown brought to the program. And it has to be someone with FBS head coaching experience. An offensive background is encouraged, though not required. As is someone looking to plant some roots, rather than using the job as a stepping stone, like Brown did, the first time he had the job.
Among the names that best fit that profile is Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
Though he is still only 45, Campbell already has 14 years of head coaching experience. Five at Toledo and the past 9 with the Cyclones. During that time, he has won 4 conference Coach of the Year awards, along with a Big 12 championship.
His team is 10-2 and ranked No. 18 with an opportunity to win its way into the Playoff bracket in Saturday’s Big 12 title game against Arizona State. Although his background is on defense, something that could definitely help a UNC program that has struggled in that area under Brown, his Cyclones are also averaging 31 points per game.
Another intriguing possibility is Eli Drinkwitz.
The 41-year-old Missouri coach has ties to North Carolina, having served as Dave Doeren’s offensive coordinator at NC State from 2016-18 and head coach at Appalachian State for a season after that before jumping to Mizzou.
His Tigers play an entertaining brand of football and have won 19 games and counting over the past 2 seasons. But would a successful SEC coach who just received a 5-year, $46 million extension last January seriously consider leaving for a middle-of-the-pack ACC program?
He might if he thinks he’s reached his ceiling at Missouri or thinks it will give him a better shot at keeping his team in Playoff contention every year.
It would at least be worth the phone call.
And speaking of getting out of Dodge before the posse catches up with you …
Garrett Riley’s big brother, Lincoln, might be looking for an escape plan from Southern Cal after a rocky first season in the Big Ten.
Like Drinkwitz, he has ties to the Old North State, having cut his teeth as the Boy Wonder offensive coordinator at East Carolina before making the jump to the FBS level. Those teams, you might recall, pounded NC State and UNC in 2013, and then hung 70 on the Tar Heels in 2014.
Riley might be more interested in making the jump to the NFL. But given the trajectory of his program – the Trojans are 6-6 (4-5 Big Ten) – and the fact that the NCAA just hit it with a 1-year probation for violations for non-coaching analysts performing on-and-off-field responsibilities, he might be inclined to take whatever comes available first.
Especially if the college job happens to be one as attractive as the opening at UNC.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
