North Carolina’s passing offense in 2024 has been, simply, not good. Through three games — all wins — the Tar Heels have averaged 169 passing yards a game, the No. 112-ranked by yards per game in the country.

It’s a reality that head coach Mack Brown is well aware of. But also one he’s doesn’t want to make out to be the end of the world.

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“It’s interesting that, a lot of times what I say up here is not what people hear. So I have to be really careful when I answer questions, because somebody will say ‘Well, you said this at the press conference.’ And I’ll go, ‘That’s not at all what I said, they butchered it.’ So I’ll be really careful: We have been so lucky to have two NFL quarterbacks that didn’t get hurt,” Brown said. “And we have thrown the ball as good as anybody in the country. So if you’re a wide receiver and you don’t see the same production right now, it’s a hard thing. It’s frustrating.

“So, they’ve gotta go back and make sure they’re running the right routes. Gotta control what they can control. They’ve gotta have better concentration and catch the ball. They’ve gotta have better body language and be excited because we’re not the same passing team that we’ve been. We can be, and we’re headed in that direction. And I saw some great things Saturday that are really exciting. And again, you can be that person that says, ‘Their offense stinks’ or you can be the person that says ‘Man, there’s some hope, I saw some good stuff.’”

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Brown continued, noting that in prior weeks the concern had been about North Carolina’s rushing offense and red zone efficiency.

Then, after scoring five times in six red zone trips and rushing for more than 300 yards, Brown couldn’t help but notice there was a new concern that suddenly needed addressing, despite the Tar Heels continuing to win.

“And if you’re running, we always gripe about the running game and the red zone,” Brown said. “Well we scored about 5 out of 6 times in the red zone, we rushed for 330 but now that we’ve got that out of the way, lets try to find something else. Because there’s always something to fix. These are human beings. I wish sometimes they were internet games. Madden. That’d be a lot more fun and a lot less drama. But they’re not. So, your point is well taken and we have talked to them, and we have challenged them: You go do your job, and the rest of it works out.”

He finished his spiel by recalling a message that former NFL head coach and Super Bowl winner Tony Dungy shared with the team.

“He said, ‘How many people in here want to win a conference championship?’ Every hand,” Brown said, raising his hand in the air. “‘How many people in here want to win a national championship?’ Every hand, me too. Everybody, 140 in the room had their hands up. And he said, ‘OK, where are the receivers? Oh, you’re sitting back here. All of you, stand up. How many of you would rather win no games and catch a lot of balls, or how many would rather catch no balls and win the national championship?’ And they went, ‘Oh, man.’ And he said ‘Yeah, it’s called selfishness.’ So, if you’re a team guy, you’ve gotta be a team guy. If Omarion [Hampton] doesn’t touch the ball Saturday and we decide to throw it every time, will he be as happy? Probably not. But, if we win the game — it’s all about winning. So we’re going through a little growing up, here.” 

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