Mack Brown

College coach infobox
Name = Mack Brown


Caption = Mack Brown at San Antonio Longhorn Club
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1951|8|27
Birthplace = Cookeville, TN
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = Texas
Title = Head coach
CurrentRecord = 103–25
OverallRecord = 189–99–1
Contract = $2,910,000 [cite news | title=Texas Gives Mack Brown Raise, Extension | publisher=ABCNews.com | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=3534987 | date=2007-08-28 | accessdate=2007-09-07 | last=Vertuno | first=Jim ]
Awards = 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
Championships = 2005 I-A National Championship
2005 Big 12 Conference Championship
CFbDWID = 261
Player = Y
Years = 1969-1970
1972-1973
Team = Vanderbilt
Florida State
Position = RB
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1979
1980-1981
1982
1983
1984
1985-1987
1988-1997
1998-"present"
CoachTeams = Iowa State (WR)
Iowa State (OC)
Louisiana State (QB)
Appalachian State
Oklahoma (OC)
Tulane
North Carolina
Texas
FootballHOF =

William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is head coach of the University of Texas Longhorn football team.

Prior to coaching at Texas, Brown coached at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs. The Longhorns beat USC in the 2005 Rose Bowl, Ohio State at The Horseshoe in September 2005, and division rival Oklahoma in 2005, 2006, and 2008. The 2005 season was capped off by victories over Colorado and USC to win the Big 12 conference and national championships, respectively. In 2006 he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year".cite news | title=Head coach reaches summit - Fans looking at Brown in new light after national championship run | publisher=The Daily Texan | date=18 January 2006 | accessdate=2006-07-27 | author=Veyhl, Jake | url=http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2006/01/18/RoseBowlTab/Head-Coach.Reaches.Summit-1434846.shtml?norewrite200607271260&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com] Brown is one of the five highest-paid coaches in the sport.

Early life

Brown was born in the middle of three children (brothers Mel, youngest, and Watson) on August 27, 1951 in Cookeville, Tennessee. During his teenage years, he attended Putnam County High School. He was the product of a disciplined home with an early curfew. It might also be said that he had football in his veins. His grandfather, Eddie Watson, was a legendary athlete at Tennessee Tech and coach at Putnam County High School for more than three decades. His father, Melvin Brown, was also a coach and an administrator. Mack's older brother Watson also caught the coaching bug, and is the current head football coach at Tennessee Tech.

Brown attended Vanderbilt University and later graduated from Florida State University in 1974, starting his coaching career as a student coach after an injury ended his playing career. He then received a graduate degree from The University of Southern Mississippi in 1976. During his undergraduate years, Brown was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. [http://www.sae.net/index.asp?r=fraternity&sr=facts&ssr=facts Facts and History] , Sigma Alpha Epsilon.]

Coaching career

Early positions

Brown's first experience coaching came as a student coach of wide receivers at Florida State University, a position he held in 1973 and 1974. From 1975 to 1977 he was the Wide Receivers Coach at Southern Miss. This was followed by a one-year stint as Wide Receivers Coach at Memphis State. For the 1979 season, he joined the staff of Iowa State, again as a Wide Receivers Coach, before a promotion to Offensive Coordinator. In 1982, he moved to LSU as the Quarterbacks Coach.

Brown's first head coaching job came in 1983 when he led Appalachian State to a 6-5 record. After losing out to Bill Arnsparger for the vacant head coaching position at LSU, Brown then moved back to a supporting role, but for a much more illustrious program, as offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners during the 1984 season, where one of his quarterbacks was future NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.

His second head coaching position came with Tulane in 1985. Despite a slow start (a 1-10 record in his first year), he helped turn around the program and led the Green Wave to a 4-7 in 1986 and, in 1987, to a 6-6 record and a trip to the Independence Bowl, Tulane's fifth bowl game in over 40 years.

University of North Carolina

In 1988, Brown took the head coaching job at North Carolina. Saddled with a thin recruiting base inherited from his predecessor, Dick Crum, Brown's first two teams finished with identical 1-10 records.

However, the next two years saw a relatively quick return to respectability. In 1990, the Tar Heels finished 6-4-1, including a tie of Georgia Tech that proved to be the Yellow Jackets' only non-win that season (en route to a share of the national championship). In 1991, the Tar Heels finished 7-4, narrowly missing a bowl bid.

Everything finally came together for the Tar Heels in 1992. They finished 8-3 in the regular season and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and with a victory over the Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl, they finished the season at 9-3. The Peach Bowl was the program's first bowl appearance since 1986, first bowl win since 1982, and first appearance in a final Top 25 poll since 1982.

The 1992 season was the start of UNC's most successful period since the Charlie Justice era in the late 1940s. Brown led the Tar Heels to five consecutive bowl games, including UNC's only two New Year's Day bowl games in more than half a century (or three, if one counts the 1992/93 Peach Bowl, which was played the day after New Year's to avoid a conflict with the Sugar Bowl). They were ranked in the AP Top 25 every week from October 1992 through the start of the 1995 season. They finished in the final rankings in four out of five years, including two straight appearances in the top 10. They also won 10 regular-season games in 1993 and 1997--only the second and third times the Tar Heels have accomplished this, ever.

Brown's time at UNC also saw renewed popularity for a team that had long played in the shadow of the school's powerhouse basketball team. Games at Kenan Memorial Stadium were almost always sold out, the highlight being a standing room only crowd of 62,000 that watched the Tar Heels play Florida State in 1997--still the largest crowd to watch a college football game on campus in the state of North Carolina. Brown also spearheaded a major renovation to Kenan Stadium that featured upgraded team facilities and an expansion to 60,000 seats.

The improved performance of the Tar Heels under Brown's leadership garnered him increased attention as well. However, his inability to win big games or overtake Florida State for the ACC title resulted in increased criticism, including a "Mr. Football" moniker from then-Florida head coach Steve SpurrierFact|date=December 2007.

eason records under Brown

His year-by-year records and bowl appearances while at North Carolina are as follows:CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name=North Carolina Tar Heels
conf=Atlantic Coast Conference
startyear=1988
endyear=1997CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1988
name = North Carolina
overall = 1–10
conference = 1–6
confstanding = 7thCFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1989
name = North Carolina
overall = 1–10
conference = 0–7
confstanding = 8thCFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1990
name = North Carolina
overall = 6–4–1
conference = 3–3–1
confstanding = 5thCFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1991
name = North Carolina
overall = 7–4
conference = 3–4
confstanding = 5thCFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1992
name = North Carolina
overall = 9–3
conference = 5–3
confstanding = 3rd
bowl = yes
bowlname = Peach
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 18
ranking2 = 19CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1993
name = North Carolina
overall = 10–3
conference = 6–2
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Gator
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = L
ranking = 21
ranking2 = 19CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1994
name = North Carolina
overall = 8–4
conference = 5–3
confstanding = 3rd – T
bowlname = Sun
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = L
ranking = 21
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1995
name = North Carolina
overall = 7–5
conference = 4–4
confstanding = 5th – T
bowlname = Carquest
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1996
name = North Carolina
overall = 10–2
conference = 6–2
confstanding = 2nd – T
bowlname = Gator
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 10
ranking2 = 10CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1997
name = North Carolina
overall = 10–1
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = *
ranking = 7
ranking2 = 4CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name=North Carolina
overall=69–46
confrecord=40–35–1* See "Move to Texas" below.CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 69–46
bcs = no


poll = two

University of Texas at Austin

Move to Texas

While Brown informed his North Carolina team and the media that he had no plans to leave North Carolina for the recently-vacated job at the University of Texas, he was soon identified (over the objections of Longhorn Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds) by the Texas search committee as one of only two men they were interested in hiring. At the time, the Tar Heels had just completed their most successful season in years. The 1997 Tar Heels notched a 10–1 record--only the third 10-win regular season in school history. They were slated to appear in the Gator Bowl for the second year in a row--only their second (or third) New Year's Day bowl game since the Justice era. They were also all but assured of their highest final ranking in the AP Poll in half a century.

On December 2, 1997, Brown was contacted while at the ACC's football banquet in Atlanta. He agreed to meet with the hiring committee, which included Dodds, Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal, several former Texas players, and several important boosters, most notably Tom Hicks (owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers), who donated time, energy and the use of his private jet corps to the coaching search that also included an exploratory meeting with Northwestern's Gary Barnett in Chicago.

Brown met the committee on December 3 in the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta.

The committee was impressed with Brown and Dodds offered him the job on the spot. The offer included a sizable pay raise to about $750,000 a year (which could climb to as high as $1 million with incentives), and a similar amount to recruit assistant coaches.

Brown tentatively accepted, but wanted to speak with North Carolina Athletics Director Dick Baddour and the North Carolina football team before making an official decision. The following day Brown met with Baddour, who had been told by the Chancellor to offer Brown a ten-year contract, as Brown relates in his autobiography:

: [Baddour] came over to our house... The university offered me [a salary equal to the basketball head coach's] , but Baddour made it clear that it would create a real hardship on the department if I took it. He also said, "If you want football to be equal to basketball, you should go to Texas." ... [Baddour] told us the chancellor had said to offer a ten-year contract.... He did add that he didn't feel the Board of Trustees would approve the long-term deal. [Brown, Mack - "One Heartbeat II" (p.45).]

Brown called Deloss Dodds to officially accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas on December 4, 1997 at 2:30 PM, then informed Dick Baddour of his decision fifteen minutes later. At 3:00 PM, Brown held a meeting with the Tar Heel players to inform them of his decision.cite book | last=Brown |first=Mack | coauthors=Bill Little | title= One Heartbeat II: The Road to the National Championship |page=35-45 | publisher= Bright Sky Press | year=2006 | month=June | language=English | ISBN= 1931721769 | others=Foreword by Darrell Royal, Preface by Red McCombs ]

That Thursday night, Brown flew to Austin. He was introduced to an enthusiastic Longhorn crowd on Friday.

As a consequence of taking the Texas post, Brown was not on the sidelines during the Tar Heel's 42–3 rout of Virginia Tech in the 1998 Gator Bowl, having been replaced as head coach by defensive coordinator Carl Torbush. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush.

eason records under Brown

Brown's year-by-year records as head coach of the Texas Longhorns (with bowl appearances) are as follows:CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Texas Longhorns
conf=Big 12 Conference
startyear=1998
endyear=CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1998
name = Texas
overall = 9–3
conference = 6–2
confstanding = 2nd
bowl = yes
bowlname = Cotton
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking = 16
ranking2 = 15CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = division
year = 1999
name = Texas
overall = 9–5
conference = 6–2
confstanding = 1st
bowl = yes
bowlname = Cotton
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = L
ranking = 23
ranking2 = 21CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2000
name = Texas
overall = 9–3
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 2nd
bowl = yes
bowlname = Holiday
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = L
ranking = 12
ranking2 = 12CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = division
year = 2001
name = Texas
overall = 11–2
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 1st
bowl = yes
bowlname = Holiday
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 5
ranking2 = 5CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2002
name = Texas
overall = 11–2
conference = 6–2
confstanding = T–1st
bowl = yes
bowlname = Cotton
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 7
ranking2 = 6CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2003
name = Texas
overall = 10–3
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Holiday
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = L
ranking = 11
ranking2 = 12CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2004
name = Texas
overall = 11–1
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Rose
bcsbowl = yes
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 4
ranking2 = 5CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = national
year = 2005
name = Texas
overall = 13–0
conference = 8–0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Rose
bcsbowl = yes
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 1
ranking2 = 1CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2006
name = Texas
overall = 10–3
conference = 6–2
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Alamo
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 13
ranking2 = 13CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 2007
name = Texas
overall = 10–3
conference = 5–3
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname = Holiday
bowlopp =
bowloutcome = W
ranking = 10
ranking2 = 10CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name=Texas
overall=103–25
confrecord=65–15Big 12 South standingCFB Yearly Record End
overall = 103–25
bcs = yes


poll = two

Early seasons

In his early years at UT, Mack Brown was sometimes referred to as "Coach February", a nickname that indicated he performed well during the important recruiting season, but failed to follow up with equally impressive wins on the field.cite news | url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2005/12/29/RoseBowl2006/Texas.Brown.Could.Shake.coach.February.Title.Forever-1270005.shtml | title=Texas' Brown could shake "Coach February" title forever | work=Daily Texan | publisher=Texas Student Media | date=December 292005|accessdate=2007-10-31] His detractors felt that with all the resources at his disposal at Texas, combined with the talent he was recruiting from high school programs, that he should have more to show for it than appearances in the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.

In five of the first eight seasons under Brown, the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma. Since the two teams play in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas cannot win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma loses at least two conference games. 2001 was an exception that did little to ease the criticism. In that year's campaign, the Longhorns lost to the Sooners but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, losing to Colorado, a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year. Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado. A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002. After Oklahoma beat Texas, they lost to Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. However, Texas had suffered a heart-breaking loss to Texas Tech so they did not make the championship game.

In 2003, Texas finished the regular season with a 10-2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown. However, when South Champion (and #1 ranked) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State received the Big 12 conference's automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS. The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go. Texas was frozen out.

Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl. His record in these games was 3 and 3, with two of the 3 losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.

2004 season

In 2004, the Longhorns began the season with a #7 ranking nationally and started out with a 65-0 blowout of North Texas, setting several UT school records in the process. This was followed by a narrow 22-20 win against unranked Arkansas. They defeated Rice and Baylor 35-13 and 44-14 respectively.

This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shut-out the Longhorns 12-0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 Missouri 28-20, at #24 Texas Tech 51-21, and at Colorado 31-7.

Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 Oklahoma State 56-35 after falling behind 7-35. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas but squeaked out a win 27-23. Kansas head coach Mark Mangino stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.

The series of victories brought Texas back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M to Austin and won 26-13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.

However, Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters (one on college football coaches, the other on Associated Press writers) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl-bid. The arcane rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the 8 chosen teams even though they ranked 5th nationally. A lackluster win by Cal over Southern Miss gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl, one of the four BCS bowls. This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl. Thus, he was no longer criticized for failing to get into a top bowl, he was criticized for doing so.

The appearance in the "Grand-daddy" of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10 against the winner of the Big Ten. Texas' opponent was Michigan, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas won the game 38-37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.cite news | url= http://texas.scout.com/2/336787.html | title=Hollywood ending! | publisher=College Football News | author=Frisbie, Bill | date=January 2 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-13] ["Kicked into
] ["Mangum's game-winning field goal caps instant classic," "The Daily Texan", Jan. 18, 2005] ["Texas coach receives unexpected phone call from President," "The Daily Texan", Jan. 6, 2005] ["Senate pays homage to Horns; Sen. Barrientos, a Texas alum, cites 'Rose Bowl win for the ages,'" "Austin American-Statesman", April 28, 2005]

Ironically, Brown followed up a strong 2004 season on the field with a less successful 2005 recruiting season. Brown, who long had been criticized for recruiting top talent but not achieving the highest possible results, began to receive criticism for missing out on top recruits, especially for missing out on quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who ended up not following through on his verbal commitment to sign with Texas.

Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking a conference championship, let alone a national championship. The 2005 season offered an opportunity to add those credentials.

2005 season

Save for redshirt Junior Quarterback Vince Young, many of Texas' key players from the previous season, including running back Cedric Benson, linebacker Derrick Johnson and tight end Bo Scaife, did not return for the 2005 season. However, Texas was given a pre-season #2 ranking (behind defending National Champions University of Southern California) by "Sports Illustrated" magazine, and was also ranked second in the AP and "USA Today" coaches pre-season polls.

* Rankings are from the Associated Press poll released prior to each game.
† First national championship since 1970 (BCS, AP).

Texas scored a decisive 45-12 victory over Oklahoma. That marked the 6th time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked 2nd nationally, and they have won all six times. With the win, Texas started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1983. That was the last time UT had national title hopes, ending the regular season 11-0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl.

After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings for the first time since their creation. The BCS formula, which takes into account strength of schedule, allowed Texas to advance in the rankings since they defeated a previously unbeaten team, while University of Southern California beat Washington, a 1-6 team.

Texas' place at the top of the BCS rankings lasted only one week. On October 29, Texas beat an Oklahoma State University Cowboys team that had struggled so far that season. Despite OSU's 0-5 start to conference play, Texas found themselves behind early in the game and for the third straight year, Texas found themselves trailing a lower-ranked Oklahoma State team at half-time. For the third straight year, Texas came from behind to win by a sizable margin. Vince Young set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 267, and accounted for 506 total yards of offense to lead the team to victory. Over the past 3 meetings between the two schools, the Longhorns outscored the Cowboys by a combined second-half score of 118 to 0.

Texas retained the top spot in the computer rankings, but not by enough to stay ahead of USC overall. [Schecter, B.J. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/bj_schecter/10/24/bcs.reax/index.html] October 24 2005 "Sports Illustrated".] After both teams won all their remaining games, USC and Texas were ranked 1 and 2, respectively; Texas then defeated USC 41-38 in the Rose Bowl, winning the National Championship.

Perhaps, it is the "LIVE THE DREAM 2006" campaign that excites the Longhorn community throughout Austin, Texas that sums up Coach Mack Brown's post Rose Bowl words to the BCS National Champions:

:"Don't let this be the best thing that ever happens in your life....Maybe it'll be the best sports event, but don't let it be the best thing. Make sure you're a better father than this today. Make sure you're a better husband than this today. Because this goes away.... It's a game."

When Brown was introduced as the new head football coach at University of Texas at Austin, it was said to begin "The Brown Era" at The Burnt Orange University. On January 11, 2006 the Brown Era became legend as Coach Mack Brown was named the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year.cite news | title=Head coach reaches summit - Fans looking at Brown in new light after national championship run | publisher=The Daily Texan | date=18 January 2006 | accessdate=2006-07-27 | author=Veyhl, Jake | url=http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2006/01/18/RoseBowlTab/Head-Coach.Reaches.Summit-1434846.shtml?norewrite200607271260&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com] Not since Darrell Royal's victory in 1963 has a coach from The University of Texas at Austin been given this honor. Voted by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, this award not only affirms the talent, skills and vision of Coach Mack Brown but strengthens the athletic and academic record achieved during his UT tenure. Eighteen players on the 2006 Rose Bowl roster entered the game with the coursework for their college degree complete.

2006 season

As the defending national champions, Texas began the season ranked #2 in the polls, but having to replace the NFL-departed quarterback Vince Young with freshman Colt McCoy. After winning their opener, the Longhorns in game two lost convincingly to #1 ranked Ohio State in Austin. The Horns rebounded to win seven straight (including a second straight win over nemesis Oklahoma) to climb into the Big 12 South driver's seat and entertain thoughts of a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship. However, in the season's 10th game, McCoy was injured and Texas was shocked on the road by Kansas State. After the loss, the Horns returned home still needing just one win to clinch the Big 12 South. However, even though McCoy returned Texas was again shocked, losing 12-7 to intrastate rival Texas A&M. The loss snapped UT's 6 game winning streak over the Aggies. Settling for the Alamo Bowl, Texas defeated a 6–6 Iowa team in a close game.

2007 season

As Mack Brown entered his 10th season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns he had a won/loss record of 93 22 and he had the best winning percentage (.809) of any coach in Longhorn history. The 2007 Texas Longhorn football team began play on September 1 2007. Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. They are ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls. For instance, a pre-season ranking by ESPN writer Mark Schlabach has the Longhorns ranked eighth; [cite news | last =Schlabach | first =Mark | title =Booty could return Trojans to No. 1 ranking | language =English | publisher =ESPN | date =2007-01-11 | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=2725188| accessdate =2007-01-23] Rivals.com has them at ninth. [cite news | last =McClellan | first =Mark | title =Rivals.com 2007 Preseason Top 25 | language =English | publisher =ESPN | date =2007-01-09 | url =http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=627579| accessdate =2007-01-18] College Football News [cite web | url=http://cfn.scout.com/2/609740.html | title=CFN 2007 Pre-Preseason Rankings - Top 25 | publisher=College Football News | date=January 14 2007 | accessdate=2007-01-23] and Real Football 365 [cite web | title=2007 Preseason Rankings, National Title Contenders - No. 1 to No. 25 | url=http://cfn.scout.com/2/609740.html| publisher=Scout.com | accessdate=2007-01-16 | language=English | format=HTML] both have the Longhorns ranked third. The Longhorns come into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches Pollcite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2007/08/03/longhorns_ranked_fourth_in_coaches_poll.html | title=Longhorns ranked fourth in coaches poll | publisher=Austin American-Statesman | date=3 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03] and AP Poll.cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/shared-gen/ap/General_College_Sports_News/FBC_College_FB_Poll.html | title=USC Is No. 1 in AP Top 25 College Poll | publisher=Associated Press | author=Russo, Ralph | date=19 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-19]

Prior to the season, two Longhorns were arrested for driving while intoxicated and will serve three-game suspensions; two other players were arrested on armed robbery charges and were removed from the team.cite news | url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/08/03/Sports/Law-Seeks.Out.Texas.Football.Again-2929321.shtml | title=Law seeks out Texas football, again | publisher=The Daily Texan | author=Jankowski, Philip | date=3 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03] cite news | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2962285 | title=Melton, Kindle to miss first three games of season for DWI charges | publisher=Associated Press | date=5 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-06] cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2007/08/03/jones_suspended_indefinitely.html | title=Jones suspended indefinitely | publisher=Austin American-Statesman | author=Halliburton, Suzanne | date=3 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03] cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2007/08/03/andre_jones_in_custody_on_robbery_charge.html | title=Andre Jones in custody on robbery charge | author=Trubow, Alan | publisher=Austin American-Statesman | date=3 August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03] Brown said “I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer. That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years. It’s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention, because I do think that overall, this is as good of a group of kids that I’ve ever coached. I think that will show over time.”

For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among clients of Collegiate Licensing Company. [cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/08/16/0816royalties.html | title=Texas repeats as national champion in merchandising - UT sells more gear than Notre Dame, Florida and everyone else | publisher=Austin-American Statesman | date=August 16 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-19] UT is using part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise. The University of Texas Board of Regents voted unanimously to raise Brown's salary by $300,000. This brings his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeps him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also includes up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate."cite news | url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/08/29/TopStories/Mack-Browns.Raise.Approved.By.Ut.Regents-2941770.shtml | title=Mack Brown's raise approved by UT regents | author=Collier, Kiah | work=The Daily Texan | publisher=Texas Student Media | date=August 29 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-30] Brown's contract is good through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.

Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected.cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/gen/ap/FBC_T25_Arkansas_St_Texas.html | title=McCoy tosses 2 TDS but Texas shaky in 21-13 win | work=Austin American-Statesman | publisher=Cox Enterprises | author=Vertuno, Jim | date=September 1 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-01] cite news | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272510251 | title=McCoy, Texas regain composure to handle TCU | work=ESPNU.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=September 8 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-08] [cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2007/09/15/burn_the_chart.html | title=Burn the chart | work=Austin American-Statesman | publisher=Cox Enterprises | author=Golden, Cedric | date=September 152007 | accessdate=2007-09-15] [cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/09/18/0918texnotes.html | title=Longhorn notebook | work=Austin American-Statesman | publisher=Cox Enterprises | author=Trubow, Alan and Kirk Bohls date=September 182007 | accessdate=2007-09-18] cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/gen/ap/FBC_T25_Texas_Central_Florida.html | title=Texas holds off Central Florida 35-32 | auhtor=Goodall, Fred | work=Austin American-Statesman | publisher=Cox Enterprises | date=September 15 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-15] Following that, Texas was upset by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21. Kansas State had no turnovers and scored 21 points on defense and special teams.cite news | url=http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/playbyplay?gameId=272720251&period=0 | title=Kansas State 41, (7) Texas 21 - Complete Play-by-Play | work=ESPN.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=29 September2007|accessdate=2007-09-29] They scored one touchdown on a punt return, one on a kick return, and one on an interception. Previously, Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season.cite news | url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/10/02/Sports/Mccoy.Texas.Taking.Hard.Hits-3005341.shtml | title=McCoy, Texas taking hard hits | author=Hale, Cody | work=The Daily Texan | publisher=Texas Student Publications | date=October 22007|accessdate=2007-10-06] The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997,cite news | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272720251&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines | title=Wildcats turn table again on McCoy, No. 7 Longhorns | work=ESPN.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=29 September2007|accessdate=2007-09-29] and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas.cite news | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/10/04/texas.young/index.html | title='Horns unhooked - Texas is missing Vince Young-type leadership | author=Mandel, Stewart | work=SI.com | publisher=Time Warner | date=October 42007 | accessdate=2007-10-11] Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21.cite news | url=http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272790251 | title=Bradford's steady play steers Sooners past Horns | work=ESPN.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=October 62007 | accessdate=2007-10-06] With that loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal became head coach of the Longhorns.cite news | url=http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272790251 | title=Bradford's steady play steers Sooners past Horns | work=ESPN.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=October 62007 | accessdate=2007-10-06] In their ninth regular season game, Texas outscored Nebraska 28-25, marking Brown's 100th win at Texas. In their next two games, the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A&M, the Longhorns lost 30–38. This marked the Longhorns' second straight loss to the Aggies. Despite the loss, Texas went to the Holiday Bowl to defeat 11th-ranked Arizona State 52–34. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3, marking their seventh consecutive 10-win season. This streak became the third highest in FBS history, trailing Florida State's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami's 8 from 1985–92.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273610251|title=McCoy fumbles four times, but Texas still routs Arizona State in Holiday Bowl|publisher=ESPN|work=Associated Press|accessdate=2007-12-28|date=2007-12-28]

Notable statistics and accomplishments

*2005 NCAA Football National Championship (game played in January, 2006)
*2005 Big 12 Conference Championship
*16 consecutive winning seasons
*14 consecutive bowl game appearances
*Big 12 Conference record 21 consecutive conference wins from 2004–2006.
*Player awards at Texas under Brown include a Heisman Trophy winner (Ricky Williams), two Maxwell Award winners (Ricky Williams, Vince Young), a Davey O'Brien Award Winner, two Doak Walker Award winners, a Butkus Award winner, two Thorpe Award winners and four national player of the year honors. Texas has also had 23 All-Americans, 37 first-team All-Big 12 selections, two Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year, two Big 12 Conference Defensive Players of the Year and seven Big 12 Freshman of the Year honorees.
*UT has posted back-to-back 11-win seasons, five consecutive 10-win seasons and ten consecutive 9-win campaigns for the first time in school history, though it must be noted that seasons are generally longer than they had been in the past
*The Longhorns under Brown have featured the only 3,000-yard passer, the only 2,000-yard rusher, the only 1,000-yard receivers and the only 1,000-yard passer/rusher in UT history.
*Brown is one of only three head coaches in NCAA Division I-A history who has coached players that recorded a 2,000-yard rushing season, a 1,000-yard receiving season and a 3,000-yard passing season. Also, Vince Young stands as the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,050) and throw for 2,500 yards (3,036) in a single season.
*Under Brown's tenure, only four players have left the Texas team for the NFL Draft with any eligibility remaining. The first was Kwame Cavil who went undrafted. [Cavil was suspended from the team prior to the bowl game in his junior year, for "violation of team rules". The nature of the violation was not specified by Brown, Cavil, or the university. It is uncertain if Cavil would have been welcomed back to the team for his senior season if he had not left early, but it was reported at the time that Brown says he never tells players what to do if they are considering entering the NFL draft early, implying that it was in fact an early departure for the draft. Cavil subsequently went undrafted. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2000/01/06/cavil_ap/ Texas' Cavil puts name into NFL hat] Sports Illustrated January 7, 2000] Vince Young was drafted third overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Jamaal Charles and Jermichael Finley both announced they would enter the 2008 NFL Draft.cite news | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/news/story?id=3177593 | title=Charles leaving school to enter NFL draft | work=ESPN.com | publisher=The Disney Company | date=January 22008 | accessdate=2008-01-03] [cite web | url=http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/01/08//0108texfoot.html | title=Finley bolts Horns for shot at NFL - TE is second high-profile offensive star to leave team in as many weeks | author=Halliburton, Suzanne | date=January 82008 | accessdate=2008-01-08] Other players, such as Jevan Snead have elected to transfer to other schools.
*From 2001 through 2007, Brown has won 10 or more games each year. This is the longest active streak of seasons with 10+ wins in the nation.
*The Longhorns under Brown are 19-11 against their three main rivals-Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
*The Longhorns are 7-3 in Bowl games under Brown.
*In terms of consecutive winning seasons, Brown is second among all active coaches with 17, behind only Bobby Bowden with 30. [cite book | title=2007 Preview – Big12 edition | publisher=Athlon Sports | year=2007 | pages=42] On 27 October 2007 the Texas Longhorns defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 28-25 for Texas coach Mack Brown , the win was No. 100 with the Longhorns.

Outside of football

Mack Brown is married to his wife, Sally. They have 4 children: Matt Jessee, Katherine Brown, Barbara Wilson, and Chris Jessee.

In Austin, the Browns continue to be active in community affairs, serving as honorary co-chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin. The Brown's have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin (an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers) and serve on the schools Board of Directors. They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street/Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School.

The Browns' have endorsed [a] new Texas license plate, which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse and neglect and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. After the Aggie Bonfire tragedy at Texas A&M in 1999, the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors." [ [http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/pages/mackbrown.html Official Site of Texas Longhorn Football] 1998-2005.]

In October 2006, Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for "Friday Night Lights". Early in the show, a resident is heard to say "Who does he think he is? He ain't no Mack Brown." Later in the pilot, the real Mack Brown plays the role of a local football booster quizzing high-school coach Eric Taylor on his pre-game preparation.cite news | url=http://www.newsok.com/article/2855436 | title=Brown plays booster in ‘Friday Night Lights’ | publisher=NewsOK | author=Bracht, Mel | accessdate=2006-10-08] cite news | url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/longhorns/entries/2006/10/02/brown_on_his_cameo_in_friday_night_lights_dont_blink.html | title=Bevo Beat | publisher=Austin American-Statesman | accessdate=2006-10-08] cite news | url=http://www.austin360.com/tv/content/tv/stories/2006/10/1fridaynights.html | title=Into the lights | publisher=Austin 360 | accessdate=2006-10-08]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/staff/article.aspx?id=12814 Official bio at Mack Brown - Texas Football.com]
* [http://www.hookem.com/ Coverage of the Texas Longhorns] at "Austin American-Statesman"
* [http://www.attblueroom.com/gamedaycalls/ Videos of and Phone Calls from Mack Brown]