After North Carolina football lost to Duke on Sept. 28 for the first time since 2018, rumblings began around Mack Brown's job security as the North Carolina football coach. Brown is an icon at North Carolina with a 282-150-1 all-time record over two stints at the university,

For the last half-decade, North Carolina football has been under the leadership of Mack Brown as its head coach. However, that changed recently with the announcement from UNC administration that Brown had been relieved of his duties.

UNC tight ends coach and run game coordinator Freddie Kitchens will serve as interim head coach for the upcoming bowl game, the university announced on Sunday. After working on the Tar Heels staff for the last two seasons, Kitchens is fulfilling the duties for the recently departed Brown, whose officially stepped down as head coach on Sunday.