Breaking down Mack Brown's best possible replacements as North Carolina head coach
JON SUMRALL
Sumrall figures to be a front-runner for essentially any and all Power 4 jobs that come open in the coming weeks, and North Carolina is no exception.
According to Manny Navarro and Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic, people familiar with North Carolina's hiring process say Sumrall figures to get a "good look" for the job, and with good reason. All he's done to this point is win, in places where winning is far from assured.
He took over a Troy program that had failed to crack the five-win barrier in three seasons under Chip Lindsay and immediately brought the Trojans back to glory, winning 12 games his first season and 11 games in his second.
From there, Sumrall replaced Willie Fritz at Tulane, and picked up right were Fritz had left off in rebuilding the Green Wave's previously moribund program, going 9-2 and putting them squarely in the Playoff conversation.
Sumrall is a widely respected coach, and he'd likely get the Tar Heels back to national prominence in no time flat.
JAMEY CHADWELL
If the Tar Heels want someone with direct ties to the state, they should look no further than Liberty's head coach.
Chadwell has a proven history of success as a head coach, bringing Coastal Carolina an unprecedented run of success in his tenure with the Chanticleers. He proved himself to be an adept recruiter of the state, and posted three straight seasons with at least nine wins before moving to Liberty.
Since taking over the Flames' program, Chadwell has continued to win, going 21-3 over two seasons. His spread option offense is incredibly fun, and if the Tar Heels are looking to inject some excitement into the program, they could do worse than letting Chadwell call the shots.
BARRY ODOM
If North Carolina are looking for a potential retread option, they could do a lot worse than Odom. After four lackluster campaigns at Missouri, Odom became the defensive coordinator at Arkansas, where his schemes helped the Razorbacks find surprising success under head coach Sam Pittman.
From there, Odom jumped to UNLV, where he's used the same philosophies to build the previously moribund Runnin' Rebels into a formidable foe in the Mountain West. Odom's defenses flex and shift depending on the formations the offense is running, and they've been incredibly effective. But, the real key to a jump to the ACC would be offensive coordinator Brennan Marion's go-go offense, which combines the triple option and spread offenses into a truly terrifying weapon. The Runnin' Rebels live up to their name, with a high-tempo offense that would translate well to Carolina blue.
Odom won't be the top choice in Chapel Hill (that honor seems to be going to Sumrall), but there's no denying Odom's credentials as a coach, and he'd do a great job with the Tar Heels.
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