CHARLOTTE, N.C. In the year 2019, nothing ever truly goes out of style. Whats old is new. Count Mack Brown among that trend.The millennium may have changed since the last time Brown paced the sidelines as the coach of North Carolina or 7,953 days, to be more precise but the 68-year-old picked up right where he left off: with a win."I've never seen a happier group in the dre sing room than they were tonight, Brown said following UNC's 24-20 victory over South Carolina. "The '05 (Texas) national championship team wasnt any Drew Bledsoe Jersey happier than this team tonight."MORE: Brown was brought back to North Carolina after spending 16 seasons away as coach of Texas and five years as a studio analyst for ESPNto have an immediate impact on a Tar Heels program with just two wins over Power 5 programs in the last two years.And while Browns secondfirst game as UNC's coach got off to a rough start a blocked kick, a laundry sack of penalty flags and a lack of confidence in true freshman quarterback Sam Howell the Hall of Fame coach needed just one half to exorcise the demons of past seasons and to start the rebranding of UNC as a football school."Theyve had a lot of bad things happen the past few Byron Cowart Jersey years,"Brown said. "We just told them this is new."Down 20-9 in the third quarter and in the shadow of his team's end zone, Brown decided to unlock the handcuffs on Howell, the first true freshman quarterback to start a game in program history.The result?Just a 98-yard march down the field capped by a juggling, one-handed grab by Dyami Brown for a score, followed by another 95-yard drive with Troy Brown Jersey a 16-yard scoring pa s and two-point conversion to put the Tar Heels ahead for good with 8:26 to play.That concentration by Dyami Brown Sports Daily (@SportsDGI) "We felt like we had to (unleash Howell),"Brown said. "For us to win, we have great running backs, but people are going to stack the box unle s we can throw the ball."Howell, who finished 15 of 24 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, was the catalyst for the victory and was also the first symbol of the change in reputation that Brown expects for UNC. The 2018 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, Howell chose the Tar Heels over Florida State following the announcement of Browns hiring the first big recruit for a program looking to rebuild post-Larry Fedora."Just seeing Sam scramble around and make those plays builds a lot of faith,"senior offensive lineman Charlie Heck said. "We were confident that we could turn this around."BENDER:With a comeback victory now in the Justin Herron Jersey bag, Brown has tangible evidence for his players to buy into, much the same way Herm Edwards did a year ago when Arizona State upset Michigan State on its way to a surprise 7-6 season."I came back because (I) want to mentor the kids,"Brown said. "You cant do that without winning. We had a wonderful 10 months. Everybody was so good. We were selling tickets, raising money and things are great. If you don't win, that all stops."Thirty-one years after Brown made his Tar Heels coaching debut, the leader in wins among active FBS coaches (245)is back to finish what he never quite could in Chapel Hill after leaving the program behind in 1997 with a 10-win season and top-10 ranking.Brown is no longer just the lovable media personality returning to football for a cute story.An eight-win season ended his reign at Texas. An eight-win season in Chapel Hill would be heroic. Mack is back, and UNC may not be far behind."Its a new era," junior running back Michael Carter said. "We've lost a lot of games since Ive been here. Other teams think well lay down if we get hit in the mouth. We were aware of John Hannah Jersey that. We were so excited to have a chance to change that narrative today, and I think we did."