UNC's Brown takes the blame but says he has no plans to resign after the crushing defeat

Mack Brown told ESPN on Saturday that he would not resign after the emotional scene in the locker room with his players following North Carolina's embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison, which is entering its third season as an FBS school.

Brown, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, said he told the players it was his fault and that he would resign if he couldn't make things right. The 70 points were the most the Tar Heels have ever given up, falling to 3-1.

“I'm not quitting. I'm going back to work on Monday,” Brown told ESPN.

Brown, 73, is playing his sixth season at North Carolina. He told ESPN he was aware of some of the reports and that messages in emotional locker rooms could be misunderstood, but he insisted he would not resign.

He has led North Carolina to victories in four of his five seasons. The Tar Heels won eight games last season and nine the season before that, when they finished first in the ACC's Coastal Division.

Brown played 16 seasons at Texas, winning a national championship in 2005 and playing for another in 2009. He resigned under pressure after the 2013 season and, after a coaching hiatus, returned to North Carolina for his second tenure in Chapel Hill in 2019. Brown coached North Carolina from 1988-1997.

The Tar Heels travel to rival Duke next Saturday.