“I’m pissed. I’m stunned. It’s Mack Brown†— texlarry
Those words will forever live in Texas Internet legend. Following the firing of John Mackovic, names like Mike Bellotti and Mike Riley were thrown around before it appeared as though Northwestern head man Gary Barnett was going to be the guy. Then a former Oklahoma offensive coordinator and North Carolina head coach was interviewed and the rest is history.
And that history for the first 12 years was among the best years in the history of Texas football. From Mack convincing Ricky Williams to return for what became the second Heisman Trophy-winning season to Vince Young’s magical title run in Pasadena to another trip to Pasadena that fell short, those 12 years had their ups and downs. One thing is certain – the bar was set for Texas fans as high as any in the country. Four years following the loss to Alabama in the national title game, Mack Brown’s career will come to an end on December 30, 2013 in San Antonio in the Valero Alamo Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. While emotions regarding Mack Brown vary depending on the fan, looking back on his tenure as the head coach on the 40 Acres, his achievements will forever be remembered – and rightfully so.
Second in wins only to the legendary Darrell K. Royal in the history of Texas football, Mack took over a program that was in in shambles. The fan base was derisive and the top players in the high school football hotbed of Texas routinely traveled out of state to start their college careers at programs like Notre Dame and Florida State. The high school coaches, the lifeblood of the Longhorn program, despised what the program had become under John Mackovic. Mack addressed these issues head-on and did so immediately. He realized that in order to win he needed to keep the top talent in-state. And to keep that talent he needed the high school coaches on his side. The best way for Mack to gain traction was to show well in his first season on the 40 Acres. And that’s exactly what he did. Ricky Williams returned for his senior season and Mack rode his star running back into the record books and into the national spotlight. Williams won the Heisman Trophy during Mack’s first season and capped off the 9-3 campaign with a 38-11 win over Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl.
Following two more 9-win seasons, Mack Brown began a run that few coaches or teams have ever experienced. From 2001 through 2009, the Longhorns won at least 10 games each season, and finished ranked in the top 5 four times. Mack went 3-1 in BCS contests and 7-2 overall in bowl games during that span. It took a quarterback named Vince Young to get Mack over the hump and into his first BCS contest, the 2005 Rose Bowl against Michigan, following a 10-1 regular season. In what can be considered VY’s coming out party in front of a national audience, Texas won on a last second Dusty Mangum field goal, 38-37, setting up the most memorable season of Mack’s career.
The 2005 season began as a three-team race between USC, Texas and Ohio State. A meeting in the Horseshoe between Texas and Ohio State was the biggest game of the season and it did not disappoint. VY’s touchdown pass to Limas Sweed late in the fourth quarter vaulted Texas to a victory, propelling the Horns to a Big 12 championship (a 70-3 destruction of Colorado) and date with reigning champion, USC in the BCS Championship Game in Pasadena.
The 2005 Rose Bowl is a game that all Texas fans will remember. The performance by VY and the rest of the players is truly legendary and will never be forgotten by anyone who watched that game. And whom did Mack thank during his speech after receiving the crystal football? The Texas high school football coaches. The men who believed in him and helped him build the Texas program into the machine that it was and continued to be through two more 10-win seasons… before another magical run during the 2008-2009 season.
Riding the arm of a little known, lightly recruited quarterback named Colt McCoy, who began his career at Texas with a pair of up and down seasons, the Horns would defeat the Sooners45-34 in a game for the ages. The win moved Texas into the top spot in the rankings. After two more wins over top 10 programs, the Horns fell in another memorable game against Texas Tech on the final play of the game. Due to Big 12 conference tiebreaker rules, the Sooners were able to win the Big 12 and received the call to the national title game, while Texas went to the Fiesta Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes.  In another great football game, Colt found an open Quan Cosby for the game-winning touchdown. McCoy’s senior season saw the quarterback set the record for wins by a starting quarterback as he led Texas to the Big 12 title with another last second field goal against Nebraska.
The 2009 national title game, played in the familiar Rose Bowl, might have been the most disappointing night of Mack’s coaching career. A freak shoulder injury to McCoy early in the first quarter put Texas in a difficult situation and despite playing with a true freshman replacement and trailing at halftime 24-6, Mack rallied the team and the Garrett Gilbert to Jordan Shipley connection pulled Texas within three points with the ball with six minutes left. However, a sack-fumble recovered by Alabama led to a touchdown that put the game out of reach.
In 2010, it was announced that Texas A&M would be joining the Southeastern Conference, leaving the Big 12 and ending the decades long rivalry between the two largest schools in Texas. In what would be the final meeting between the two schools, Colt McCoy’s younger brother, Case, led the Horns on a game-winning drive which saw Justin Tucker end the rivalry with a kick that split the uprights and sent the Aggies to their new conference with a gut-wrenching loss.
Behind Mack Brown and Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds, the Texas job developed into arguably the best job in all of college football. It became a mecca for the best players in the state to play together. The facilities were upgraded across the board into the best in the country. Texas became the most profitable athletic department in college football and ESPN paid $300 million for the rights to its own television channel. None of these things would have been possible without the efforts of the man known as William Mack Brown. As the clock strikes zero for the Cookeville, Tennessee native, all Longhorns should give him one final “Hook ‘Em†and “Texas! Fight!†for everything he did for the University of Texas.
