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Bunting: 'Wins, Losses Don't Justify What We've Done'

Dec 25, 2006

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A day after being informed that he would be let go at the end of the football season, University of North Carolina football coach John Bunting was able to joke about his situation Monday.

 "I only wear ties to funerals, and this certainly isn't a funeral," Bunting said at a press conference to discuss the future of the Tar Heel football program.

Athletic director Dick Baddour told Bunting Sunday that he would not return next fall for his seventh season as coach. The players were informed of the decision during a Sunday night meeting.

Bunting, a former linebacker at North Carolina, was largely blamed for UNC's miserable season in which they have a 1-6 record and have yet to defeat a Division I-A opponent. Statistically, the Tar Heels also rank among the worst offenses and defenses in I-A.

"We worked so hard -- tirelessly -- to do the right things to get this program going," he said. "We got things rolling. There are some great things going on. Unfortunately, the wins and losses this year don't justify what we've done."

Bunting said UNC has a number of top-notch players sitting out this year and a highly regarded recruiting class for next year. He said he disagreed with Baddour's decision but had accepted it and would do whatever he could to help UNC's future success.

Baddour expressed great admiration for Bunting and thanked him for his dedication to the university. He said his decision was bittersweet.

"He worked hard to change the culture of University of North Carolina football, and he always focused on academics, discipline and a strong sense of principles," Baddour said. "(But ) it was clear to me that we needed to go in a new direction."

Allowing Bunting to finish this season was a key element in the decision to dismiss him, Baddour said.

"He is the best person to keep this program together right now," he said, declining to discuss the search for a replacement or the future direction of UNC football. "I don't want to turn this into some kind of public evaluation of the program."

UNC has retained Chuck Neinas to help in its coaching search. A former commissioner of the Big 8 Conference and former director of the College Football Association, Neinas has helped 51 schools find a new coach or administrator as an unaffiliated consultant.

Schools who have benefited from Neinas' help include Texas' hiring of former UNC coach Mack Brown, Georgia's hiring of Mark Richt and Florida's landing Urban Meyer.

Worst Overall Record, Questionable Future

Bunting has a record of 25-42 -- the worst winning percentage by a UNC coach with more than one year on the job -- but he said many of the losses came in his first two years, when he was working with players recruited by former coaches Mack Brown and Carl Torbush. The team finished 6-6 in 2004 and was 5-6 last year.

He has three years remaining on his contract, which pays $286,200 annually. Baddour said the university would pay off the entire contract, unless Bunting finds another job before it ends.

Assistant coaches who aren't retained next year also would receive their salaries until they find other jobs, Baddour said.

Former Tar Heels coach Bill Dooley, who recruited Bunting to Chapel Hill in the 1960s, said he was sure his former star linebacker would resurface in coaching.

"John's a good football coach," Dooley said in a phone interview from his home near Wilmington. "I'm sure a bunch of pro coaches will probably come to him and ask him to be a position coach somewhere. He's tough-minded, he's a good person and a good coach, and normally if you're those things, you land on your feet."

Bunting said he wasn't sure about his future.

"I'm not sure how much football I'll coach from here on out, if any, because this was the place I wanted to be, and we were that close," he said, holding his right thumb and index finger an inch apart.

Bunting's best season at North Carolina probably was his first. He took over in 2001 and lost his first three games before using an upset of nationally ranked Florida State as the springboard for a turnaround and guiding the Tar Heels to a Peach Bowl victory over Auburn.

For the last three seasons, Bunting graduated at least 70 percent of his players. He also posted an 11-5 record against in-state Atlantic Coast Conference rivals North Carolina State University, Duke University and Wake Forest University.

After a losing season last year, he counted on a few new faces, including offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and former Nebraska quarterback Joe Dailey, to jump-start the Tar Heels.

Instead, they lost their first three games, squeaked past Division I-AA Furman, and then lost their fourth straight game last Thursday night at Virginia.

"You get kids to this level and you don't play as well as you should and you could, and it's just frustrating," he said.

Bunting thanked Baddour "for giving me the opportunity to come home," saying the Chapel Hill community has been supportive to him and his wife, Dawn. He said he received numerous calls from people Sunday night when word began to circulate about his dismissal, and UNC basketball coach Roy Williams came over to his house at 10:30 p.m.

"I will continue to demonstrate loyalty and commitment to this program," he said.