Freddie Kitchens named interim head coach at North Carolina

North Carolina assistant Freddie Kitchens will serve as interim head coach while the school seeks a replacement for Mack Brown, the school announced Sunday.

Kitchens, the former Cleveland Browns head coach, has spent the last two seasons as run game coordinator and tight ends coach with the Tar Heels. He will coach North Carolina in its upcoming bowl game.

North Carolina told Brown last week he would not return for the 2025 season. Brown coached his last game on Saturday, a 35-30 loss to rival NC State, and his last day is Sunday.

After the loss, Brown said he agreed it was time for a leadership change but was disappointed with how it was handled.

“We could’ve done a joint press conference, I could’ve stayed and we could’ve worked all of this out where I worked here for a while,” Brown said. “But that didn’t happen.”

Kitchens arrived at UNC in 2023 after spending one year at South Carolina. Before that, he had spent 16 years in the NFL.