Arthur Smith will not be North Carolina’s next head coach.
According to NFL.com, the former Atlanta Falcons coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator has taken himself out of the running for the job. Smith, a North Carolina alum, had been in preliminary contact with UNC administrators.
The school announced last week that it would fire coach Mack Brown at the end of the season. North Carolina lost 35-30 to rival NC State on Saturday and fell to 6-6 on the season. After the game, NC State players tried to plant a flag over the North Carolina logo at midfield, and the Tar Heels players did not take kindly to it. Flag planting was a theme on Saturday.
Brown had said he planned to return for the 2025 season after North Carolina was blown out by Boston College in Week 13. A day later, North Carolina announced the longtime coach would not be retained for the 2025 season. Brown coached Saturday’s loss, a game that will be his final game with the school. Brown said afterward that he would not coach in whatever bowl game the Tar Heels play.
Smith, 42, is in his first season as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator after his stint as head coach of the Falcons. He coached the Falcons for three seasons after serving as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans from 2011-2020. He got his coaching start at North Carolina as a graduate assistant in 2006.
Depending on how the coaching carousel plays out, North Carolina could be the biggest job opening before the 2025 season. The Tar Heels were the first power conference team to make a head coaching move and UCF is the only outer power conference program with a head coaching opening as of Sunday morning. On Saturday night, Knights coach Gus Malzahn resigned to reportedly take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State.
