Staff Writer
Larry Fedora sounded echoes of Carolina’s past when he walked to the podium and spoke during his introduction as the Tar Heels’ new football coach on Dec. 7.
His speech brought to mind another excellent offense-oriented coach at UNC, one who spoke with excitement about the future in December of 1987.
By the time Fedora had finished speaking, the Tar Heel supporters in the room were ready to suit up and hit the field outside the Loudermilk Center for Excellence, very similar to the way Mack Brown excited the masses throughout his 10 years at Carolina.
“Today is the first day of a new era of UNC football, and it’s going to be exciting,†said Fedora, who is leaving Southern Mississippi, the school at which he first became a collegiate head coach.
“You better buckle your seat belts and hold on, because it’s going to be a wild ride,†Fedora said.
When Brown took the Carolina job, he brought a reputation as a former offensive coordinator who created excitement on the field. The same is said of Fedora.
And who says so? Well, Fedora, for one.
“General George S. Patton said this: ‘Instead of waiting to see what might develop, attack constantly, vigorously and viciously. Never let up, never stop, always attack,’†Fedora said. “As a football team, we will always be attacking. Carolina-style football will be known as playing smart, playing fast and playing physical.â€
Fedora’s pledge for big plays did not just rest with the offense.
“On special teams – and I didn’t just start with special teams by chance – we will be very aggressive,†said Fedora, who led Southern Miss to their conference championship, defeating previously unbeaten Houston in the title game.
“You can count on game-changing plays in special teams,†he said. “On defense we’re going to employ multiple fronts, multiple blitzes and multiple coverages. We are about stopping the run and creating confusion and disrupting the quarterback through blitzes and coverages.â€
For those who can remember Brown, Fedora sounded awfully similar.
“Our defenses will be known for flying to the football and knocking the tar out of people,†he said. “On offense we will be one-back, no-huddle, multi-tempoed. We will spread the field horizontally to create vertical seams in the defense. We will put the ball in a playmaker’s hands.
“And when you spread the field like that, you create the opportunity for a lot of explosive plays. So that’s going to be exciting, I assure you.â€
While introducing Fedora, new director of athletics Bubba Cunningham addressed the need to reunite Carolina fans after the bitter fallout resulting from Chancellor Holden Thorp’s decision to fire coach Butch Davis one week before practice began in August.
Fedora then urged the fans to come together to support the team, and in return, he promised a show to remember.
“When our fans leave the stadium on Saturday afternoons,†Fedora said, “I want them to say ‘Wow, those guys in Carolina blue, they’re flying around, and they’re having fun playing the game.’â€
He can point to the actions of his current team for evidence. Southern Miss is 14th in the nation in scoring per game, averaging more than 37 points.
The Golden Eagles outscored Houston, the nation’s top-scoring team at more than 50 points a game, 49-28 in their Conference USA championship game.
Houston was ranked sixth in the nation at the time.
Another point of reference for offensive production is ACC champion Clemson, which scored 59 points against UNC this season. The Tigers are 27th in the nation in scoring at more than 33 points a game.
Fedora’s offensive scheme is somewhat similar to the Tigers’.
Interestingly Brown and Fedora have developed a relationship, although they have not worked together. So naturally, Fedora spoke with Brown, now the coach at Texas, before he said yes to Cunningham.
“Just to give you an idea of my relationship with Mack, I was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State,†Fedora said. “Mack was the head coach at the University of Texas. We competed against each other every year. But when I had the opportunities to go to Austin, [Texas], for recruiting or whatever, I would call Mack and say, ‘Would you mind if I come by and would you spend a few minutes with me?’
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down on his couch, and he would spend two, three hours. For me, it was fact-finding. It was about, ‘Coach, what do I need to do to become a successful head football coach?’â€
For anyone who knows Brown, it is no surprise he was generous with his advice.
“He was very gracious,†Fedora said.
The most recent conversations between the two were among the most important because Brown spent 10 years at UNC. He went from 2-20 his first two seasons at Carolina to 21-3 and back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last two.
“The things he said about this program when I talked to him were unbelievable,†Fedora said. “He said, ‘Larry, it’s a great place with great people. They have everything you need to win.’
“That is all I needed to know.â€
Now we will see if he can recruit as well as Brown and continue to build what Davis started four years ago. Fedora will inherit more talent than any new coach at UNC since Dick Crum replaced Bill Dooley in 1978.
“I understand the problems that come up when you come into a situation,†Fedora said. “The main thing is the kids are excited about winning. Kids want to win. They’ll do whatever it takes to win.
“And when they buy in, it’s a special thing. It’s magical.â€
If there is one thing UNC football can use right now, it’s a little magic.