Mack Brown goes to Texas, and UNC football needs a new coach

At the conclusion of the 1997 regular season, Mack Brown leaves for Texas. Players are hurt, the alumni are upset, and we have to play a Virginia Tech team in the Gator Bowl. Carl Torbush takes over, and the Heels destroyed the Hokies by the lopsided score of 42-3. Did Mack Brown make the right decision? Well, Texas did win a National Championship, and the Longhorns had the better football tradition, so I guess, hindsight being 20/20, everything worked out for Mack. Last time I checked he was still the Longhorn football coach.

Carl Torbush is a fine person, and I thought he brought a certain level of class to the Tar Heel program. After coaching Louisiana Tech to a 3-8 record in 1987, Torbush is hired by the Heels to be their offensive coordinator/linebackers coach for the 1988 season. At first, with limited talent on the field, the Heels defense suffered. The first 2 seasons were a disaster, although the Heels did improve on the Defensive side of the field, albeit some setbacks (i.e. vs. Duke, 1989, a 41-0 defeat). Starting in 1990, the Heels pitched their first shutout in 4 years, defeating Miami (Ohio) by a score of 34-0. Gradually the Heels played better defensive games, and the number of points allowed decreased. From 1988-1997, the Heels allowed, on average, 36, 27, 17, 18, 19, 19, 22, 17, 10 and 12 points a game. After the 1994 season, Torbush was told that the UNC Defense must improve if he wanted to remain the offensive coordinator. By looking at the results previously displayed, he exceeded expectations.

Based on his success, Carl Torbush becomes coach of the Tar Heels. Great guy, but could he be a head football coach for a rising powerhouse?

At the beginning of the 1998 season, the Heels were ranked around 10th place in most preseason polls. The first two games of the season were supposed to be warmups for the meat of the schedule, but instead, the Heels lost both games. Miami (Ohio) won 13-10, and Stanford beat the Heels 37-34. The next week, the Yellow Jackets put a hurting on the Heels, winning 43-21. This is the most points allowed by a Heels team since UVA defeated Carolina in 1989. The Heels rebounded, winning the next 3 games against Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Wake. Florida State defeated UNC by 39-13, UNC beat the Terps by a score of 24-13, and then Virginia prevailed against us, winning 30-13. UNC was sporting a 4-5 record, with Duke and NC State next. UNC beat Duke 28-6, so the State game was the key if Carolina was to go to a bowl. In Charlotte, UNC and State played a classic game, going into overtime. UNC prevailed by a score of 37-34. In the Las Vegas Bowl, UNC capped a winning season by defeating San Diego State by a score of 20-13.

Tar Heel nation was mixed about the 1998 season. Some were disappointed by the Heels record, but others were encouraged on how Torbush turned the season around. Most of us were slightly concerned, but were willing to support Torbush. We realized it was hard to replace Mack Brown under these circumstances. The telling statistic was that the Heels allowed, on average, 24 points per game, the most since the 1989 debacle.

Then came UNC's waterloo season. 1999 was the end of a 9 year winning-record stretch. The Heels played a hard fought game against the Wahoos, but came up short by a score of 20-17. After the Indiana game (a victory), the Heels had a 1-1 record. 7 games later, the Heels sported a 1-8 record, losing to FSU, Clemson, GT, Houston, Maryland, Furman and Wake. Sure, we had a lot of injuries, but injuries are a part of the game. The Heels had limited depth, and we all know who gets blamed when things are not going well. Torbush, once again, had his back against the wall. Playing a decent NC State team, the Heels defeat the Wolfpack by a score of 10-6. The next week UNC waxed Duke by a score of 38-0. These 2 games probably saved Torbush for one more season. The telling statistic, once again, was on D: the Heels allowed, on average, 25 points a game (before the State/Duke games, the Heels were allowing 30 points a game).

Torbush promised that the 2000 season would be better, and it was better. UNC defeated 6 teams (Tulsa, Wake, Marshall, Pitt, Maryland and Duke) and lost to 5 teams (FSU, GT, State, Clemson, Virginia). The culprit, once again, was on D. The Heels allowed on average 26 points per game.

Did Baddour hire the right man? I'm not Baddour, and I have no idea who he had to choose from. Baddour's pick allowed the Heels to maintain a good Defensive Coordinator, but unfortunately this man was not up for the challenge to be Head Coach. Torbush couldn't concentrate on D like he needed to, and as a result the Heels suffered. He was also a victim of having a lot of injured players, and realistically UNC's recruiting slipped the last couple of years under Mack's tenure. The better question to ask is "Could anyone succeed under these circumstances"? We will all be asking this question for a long time.