The Bill Belichick hype is at its peak at UNC with just one month left for the college football season to begin. But for the purists, it will always be Mack Brown’s team, who became the head coach in 1988 and took the program to national relevance. It’s always a Herculean feat to turn around from a 1-10 season. And Mack Brown not only broke that barrier but also took the team to eight consecutive winning seasons. Even better?

Take, for instance, his 2020 season, where the program achieved a record 11 wins along with producing QB Sam Howell. In his second tenure from 2019, the head coach started well but couldn’t withstand the NIL and transfer portal tides. So, when NIL came in 2021, it brought changes that finally led to UNC finishing 6-7 in 2024. The same changes, according to Mack Brown, are now forcing teams to make drastic decisions.

After the NIL and transfer portal changes, the House v. NCAA settlement was finally finalized in June this year. The settlement includes revenue sharing and roster limits. Athletes are now eligible to get up to $20.5 million of the revenue generated by the programs, 75% of which is bound to go to football players. While the move is termed as a welcome change, it has still brought complications for GMs and coaches, as Mack Brown echoed.

Brown appeared on the ‘Triple Option’ podcast with Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, and Rob Stone of Fox Sports, discussing different issues plaguing college football. One such issue Brown pointed out was the dilemma of paying multiple players within a limited budget and making tough choices, including letting a player go. “You’ve got some decisions to make now with your evaluations, but evaluations are more important than ever before,” said Brown, and provided his reasoning behind foolproof evaluations.

“Your offensive line coach is going to have a certain amount of money, and your general manager is going to sit in there with him. And if that left tackle asks for a million, and the right guard and the right tackle ask for 700 a piece, and you only have that much money? You’re going to have to make a decision,” said Mack Brown. And the decision? According to Mack Brown, it can deter coaches from high school recruiting.

Brown pointed to a scenario where not everyone in a position group can get what they desire. This would lead to players taking the route of the transfer portal, and then to replace those players, the coaches won’t turn to high school recruiting. Instead, they will find someone from the portal. Take, for example, Jackson Cantwell, who has signed a $2 million NIL deal with Miami. But to do that, Miami must sacrifice other players’ revenue. And that’s what teams need to prepare for, according to Brown.

“The guys that are in trouble are going to go heavy portal because they’re not going to go to high school, guys. Because people aren’t patient anymore. And do you have enough time to develop that three-star safety, or are you going to go to a college team and get an older, more mature safety? And that’s what’s really hurt high school recruiting, which I hate,” concluded Mack Brown.

The departure of Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee in recent months is a prime testament to the concerns raised by Mack Brown. According to reports, Iamaleava asked for an NIL pay upgrade, which Tennessee refused, and with spring camp ending, Nico decided to transfer. Left without their QB1, the Vols also went to the portal to get a replacement. Could they have developed another QB? Possibly. But when you are in the middle of the spring practice, it’s hard to make that call. That’s the harsh nature of the CFB world. That said, it’s not the only issue, according to Mack Brown.

Mack Brown terms transfer portal a ‘disaster’

It’s not that Mack Brown was deploring the NIL changes or revenue-sharing changes. It was the ripples that the changing football world has brought in several core aspects of football. This may range from high school recruiting to players not even graduating due to the transfer portal. And that’s one of the other core issues that Mack Brown is worried about.

“The transfer portal and NIL at the same time are a disaster because that creates tampering, and if a guy transfers one time, he’s got a 63% chance to graduate because a lot of his courses don’t transfer. If he transfers four or five times, he’s not going to graduate. Then he’s not going to have a home. Then he’s not going to have a home… He’s not going to get a job in that community when he gets out,” said Mack Brown.

Undoubtedly, Mack Brown’s concerns are well-founded, and they are backed by several reports, too. For instance, a 2025 SEC report found that the athletes lose over half of their coursework after transferring. So, the revenue sharing and NIL world have surely brought in welcome changes. But until and unless there is a clear framework around the portal, the college football world will remain in its ‘wild wild west‘ era.