Fedora To Become New Head Football Coach at North Carolina
Thu, 12/08/2011 - 05:36pm | By: UNC Athletic Communications
University of Southern Mississippi head football coach Larry Fedora has accepted a similar position at the University of North Carolina, pending final Board of Trustees approval at a 9 a.m. meeting on Friday, Dec. 9 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina officials plan to hold a press conference to announce Fedora's hiring at 1 p.m. on Friday in the Concourse Club at the Loudermilk Center on campus.
Fedora led the Golden Eagles to an 11-2 record in this, his fourth season at Southern Miss, which included a Conference USA championship. Southern Miss is scheduled to take on Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.
“We identified and spoke to a number of highly qualified coaches and the person whom we believe is the best to lead the Carolina football program forward is Larry Fedora,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said in a news release. “We share great expectations for the potential of Carolina football and we are excited that he has agreed to be our next head coach.
“Larry has a strong record both as the head coach at Southern Miss and for 18 years as a college assistant coach. Throughout his career his teams have been known for their exciting and highly productive offenses and aggressive defenses.”
Fedora's first team at Southern Miss broke 36 school records. In 2011, the Golden Eagles compiled a school-record 6,123 total yards of offense, won 11 games and the Conference USA championship.
“Coach Fedora has a plan and a vision for the future of Carolina football that I strongly believe will make us successful on and off the field,” says Cunningham. “He has more than 20 years experience in college football, has tremendous enthusiasm, understands the academic and character values that are important to the University of North Carolina, is committed to fully developing the student-athletes who are under his charge and has the ability to excite both our fans and prospective student-athletes about the potential for great success here.
“I am very impressed with the search process that Bubba Cunningham ran,” says UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp. “He did a very thorough job of identifying and evaluating the best candidates and, ultimately, selecting Larry Fedora as our football coach. I think Coach Fedora will be a great fit for Carolina, and we look forward to giving him a warm Tar Heel welcome.”