I also happen to believe Mack cares about UNC not one whit and is 100% about Mack. Hope I am wrong, time will tell.
Well, I am going to have to disagree with you there. You have been very respectful in your posts, so please don't take this as bashing you, because it isn't. What I DO know of the man is from personal experience. By that I mean a personal correspondence with the man when he left for Texas.
When it was first made public that he was thinking of leaving, I wrote a letter to him (yes, an actual letter was still OK back in those days) stating my desire to see him stay, but also stating I completely understood why he would want to go. I cited some of the rumors about how he was mistreated, but nothing elaborate. I also stated how much I appreciated the work he did at UNC and would always be a big supporter of his even if he did choose to leave.
Not being so naive as to think he would give a rat's arse about some no-name fan from no-name NC, I didn't think anything else about it. He left, I was sad, but looked forward to what I hoped was a good hire with Torbush (and we ALL know how that turned out!).
Anyway, sometime the following spring I received a letter from the University of Texas. Since I had no ties there, I was baffled. I opened it and there was a response to my letter from Mack Brown on UT letterhead. In it he thanked me for my kind words, expressed how he hated to leave UNC and how Chapel Hill and all the fans who treated him so well would always hold a special place in his heart. And, yes, he signed it himself, not some stamp. I still have that letter somewhere, tucked away in with all my other UNC keepsakes. I have never forgotten that and how he took the time to write me back, even though he didn't have to and most coaches of his stature wouldn't have bothered with. He did, signed it personally and I cherish it to this day. But, I always went back to what he said about UNC and his love for the University every time I heard him talk. I read where he professed his love for Chapel Hill in different articles here and there and always remembered what he said to me.
So, I have NO doubts whatsoever about his love for UNC. I also have no doubt he will do everything he can to rebuild this program and try to make it the best place in the country to watch a football game. Now, whether or not he can succeed remains to be seen, but I will never question the man's love for UNC.
As for his being hired, I freely admit he wasn't my first choice. He may not have been in the top 5, but I am also not overly upset he will be the next coach either. I think he was probably the best choice to appease the boosters who were going to have to pay Fedora's contract off while also giving us a good coach to rebuild with. I think he and the University have been working on this for a while and probably already have a list of assistants they want to go after or maybe have even talked to. (HE could talk to anyone he wanted to) If so, then it may be just what UNC needs to get back on track. He has the pedigree, he has the support of the boosters and, from what I can remember, he always had good relations with NC High School coaches. If he can still coach even 1/2 as good as he did before, then I think we will be just fine. No, we won't be in the playoffs and won't sniff a NC, but we will be fine.
