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,

Kitchens, who served a year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, joined Mack Brown’s staff in February 2023.

North Carolina State defeated rival North Carolina 35-30 on Saturday night in the Tar Heels' final game under coach Mack Brown, and in his news conference, Brown admitted that it was a "great time for me to get out;