North Carolina officially announced Larry Fedora as the new head football coach on Thursday afternoon.
Fedora had previously coached at Southern Mississippi, where he went 11-2 this season after winning the Conference USA Championship game.
UNC interim coach Everett Withers, who interviewed last week for the permanent job, will coach the Tar Heels on Dec. 26 at the Independence Bowl.
“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 athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a 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.
The UNC Board of Trustees must approve the contract in a 9 a.m. meeting Friday morning. A press conference introducing Fedora will be held at the Loudermilk Center on Friday at 1 p.m.
Fedora was a long-time offensive coordinator, serving in the role at Middle Tennessee from 1999-2001, then at Florida from 2001-2004 and finally at Oklahoma State before taking the USM job before the 2008 season.
At Southern Miss, Fedora has assembled a 33-19 overall record, with improving records in each of his four seasons. He began with two 7-6 seasons before going 8-5 last year and 11-2 this season. The Golden Eagles demolished No. 6 Houston 49-28 on Saturday, a game that cost Conference USA an estimated $17 million in revenue it would have received had Houston gone to a BCS bowl.
According to a USA Today salary database, Fedora earned a total pay of $704,500 this season with a maximum bonus of $387,500.
