North Carolina Tar Heels football could be a sleeping giant. The administration in Chapel Hill decided last month that reaching that potential would require a major change. The program announced that Mack Brown would not return as the head coach in 2025 and is now launching what is expected to be an expansive North Carolina football coaching search.

Kitchens, who served a year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, joined Mack Brown’s staff in February 2023.

UNC tight ends coach and run game coordinator Freddie Kitchens will serve as interim head coach for the upcoming bowl game, the university announced on Sunday. After working on the Tar Heels staff for the last two seasons, Kitchens is fulfilling the duties for the recently departed Brown, whose officially stepped down as head coach on Sunday.