Former Alabama QB becomes North Carolina’s interim head coach
North Carolina named former Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens as the Tar Heels’ interim head coach on Sunday. He takes the reins from Mack Brown with UNC preparing to complete its season with a bowl trip.
Kitchens is in his second season as the Tar Heels’ tight-ends coach and run-game coordinator.
“Freddie Kitchens is an incredibly talented coach who is respected by our student-athletes and staff,‘’ North Carolina director of athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a release from the university. “He is dedicated to doing all he can to help lead our program through this transition, and we appreciate his willingness to take on this role.”
Kitchens won Alabama’s Mr. Football honor in 1992 as the quarterback at Etowah High School.
Kitchens shared the quarterback duties at Alabama with Brian Burgdorf in 1995 before taking over full-time under center for the Crimson Tide in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
He sold cars in Tuscaloosa at Magnolia Nissan and BMW before starting his coaching career at Glenville State in 1999.
After three more college stops, Kitchens entered the NFL as the Dallas Cowboys’ tight-ends coach in 2006 and stayed in the league for the next 17 seasons, including as Cleveland’s head coach in 2019, when the Browns went 6-10.
Brown’s second stint as North Carolina’s coach ended on Saturday with a 35-30 loss to North Carolina State. UNC had informed Brown on Monday that he would not return for the 2025 season.
Brown went 44-33 in six seasons, joining the Tar Heels after working as an analyst for ESPN. He’d been let go by Texas in 2013 after 16 seasons with the Longhorns. His 35 seasons as a college head coach added up to a 288-155-1 record and included a first go-around with North Carolina from 1988 through 1997
North Carolina named former Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens as the Tar Heels’ interim head coach on Sunday. He takes the reins from Mack Brown with UNC preparing to complete its season with a bowl trip.
Kitchens is in his second season as the Tar Heels’ tight-ends coach and run-game coordinator.
“Freddie Kitchens is an incredibly talented coach who is respected by our student-athletes and staff,‘’ North Carolina director of athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a release from the university. “He is dedicated to doing all he can to help lead our program through this transition, and we appreciate his willingness to take on this role.”
Kitchens won Alabama’s Mr. Football honor in 1992 as the quarterback at Etowah High School.
Kitchens shared the quarterback duties at Alabama with Brian Burgdorf in 1995 before taking over full-time under center for the Crimson Tide in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
He sold cars in Tuscaloosa at Magnolia Nissan and BMW before starting his coaching career at Glenville State in 1999.
After three more college stops, Kitchens entered the NFL as the Dallas Cowboys’ tight-ends coach in 2006 and stayed in the league for the next 17 seasons, including as Cleveland’s head coach in 2019, when the Browns went 6-10.
Brown’s second stint as North Carolina’s coach ended on Saturday with a 35-30 loss to North Carolina State. UNC had informed Brown on Monday that he would not return for the 2025 season.
Brown went 44-33 in six seasons, joining the Tar Heels after working as an analyst for ESPN. He’d been let go by Texas in 2013 after 16 seasons with the Longhorns. His 35 seasons as a college head coach added up to a 288-155-1 record and included a first go-around with North Carolina from 1988 through 1997
