North Carolina State defeated rival North Carolina 35-30 on Saturday night in the Tar Heels' final game under coach Mack Brown, and in his news conference, Brown admitted that it was a "great time for me to get out;

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ and NC State Wolfpack’s rivalry reached a boiling point in Saturday’s rivalry football game. Emotions spilled over into a chaotic postgame altercation following the Wolfpack’s narrow 35-30 victory at Kenan Stadium.

Per On3 Sports, Brown expressed his frustration with North Carolina's administration following the Tar Heel's loss to NC State on Saturday. The school wanted Brown to announce his retirement before the NC State game. Brown didn't want to cause a distraction before the contest, so the program fired him.