Brown does his business with class
Austin, Texas — This is not to reflect on the caliber of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, but Mack Brown would gladly swap it for a fair shake in national championship politics. There are two human polls and several computer polls that get fed a diet of stuff he doesn’t understand, and the computer geeks won’t explain what it bases its vote on.
So that’s where we stood (or sat) in his office on the first day of spring football practice at Texas. Mack is one of the voting coaches. “It used to be a secret ballot, but not any more. I’d prefer it that way. I come in late at night after a game, I rush to get the scores, just who won or lost, no details, and I have to cast my vote in the dark,” he said. “I don’t like that.”
He is thinking of resigning from the electorate, but the timing is bad. He doesn’t want to look like a sore loser. But he is sore. Texas beat Oklahoma on neutral ground. In Dallas, about midway between Austin and Norman. Each lost one game, but the Sooners’ loss was to Texas, after which Oklahoma ran up a deluge of 58 points or higher against their last six opponents. It was a sickening look-at-us splurge to attract votes, and it worked.
In the long haul, the Longhorns were hurt by their own Big 12 Conference. Another bitter pill to swallow was the Heisman Trophy, awarded to Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. Not only that, but off the field McCoy is a young man of sparkling credentials. Spent the spring break doing missionary work in Peru and performs a litany of good deeds here and around his hometown, Tuscola (pop. 714).
He went to a lower-level consolidated school, thus was not the object of a recruiting crush. Nothing fancy. No rock-star heroes. In fact, he didn’t own a dress suit, until he had to buy one to go to the Heisman ceremony.
McCoy pretty much represents Mack Brown’s football philosophy: “Win championships with nice kids who are graduating. We are in the entertainment business on the weekend, in the education business during the week.”
Football is king in Texas, has been since the days of the “aerial circus” that was the Southwest Conference. Old-timers still mourn its passing — and its passing game that produced such as Bobby Layne, Davey O’Brien, Sammy Baugh, Don Meredith and a passel of others. Nowhere does the game serve a more bountiful purpose than on this sprawling campus in Austin. By the second game of the football season, Texas has paid for its entire athletics budget. Brown came here from North Carolina, where he was making $275,000 and was refused a raise. Texas offered $750,000, he now makes $3 million and shares generously with various charitable ventures. He might apologize for it, but he says the boom in football salaries relates to the infusion of Title IX legislation, and we move on.
He made a shocking move when he appointed Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator (and a Georgia alum), as his eventual successor. “You build on defense, and he was getting all sorts of attention from other schools,” Mack said. “I knew we’d soon be losing him, and I didn’t want to see him leave and we’d have to start all over again. It gives us stability. All our staff knows who the next head coach will be.”
Practice time at Texas is spent under humane conditions, in a huge enclosure, big as a dirigible hangar, where the temperature is always 71 degrees. Traditionally, Darrell Royal, whose name is on the football stadium, drops in as a sure sign of spring, and so he did, healthy and in his 80’s. Golf, though, once one of his addictions — he was known to play 54 holes on some days — is no more. Few of the Longhorns, sorry to say, are unaware of the days of Royal-ty in Texas football.
The game goes on in this lusty state, where the men are strong and fast and the women are strong and beautiful. And where the Longhorns and Mack Brown, the Tennessean, have welded a hugging relationship.
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22 comments Add your comment
richbrave
March 27th, 2009
5:10 pm
I do mine with tissue paper and in solitude.
Roy
March 27th, 2009
7:57 pm
Well written and civil commentary on the joke known as the BCS poll. Who will it screw this fall? Stand by for the next fine program that gets poked. The good die young or get dumped on by the BCS.
Ed
March 28th, 2009
2:50 am
a “sickening look at us splurge?” Shame on OU for being too good. Simple equation 3 does not equal 2. Texas lost too. Tech lost, but was 11-1. OU was 11-1. They all beat each other.
Politics? That’s all Mack Brown is, a politician. He’s good at it too. He sweet talked you, Furman.
Atlanta to Austin
March 28th, 2009
3:36 am
In a world of low life scum do anything to win guys (meyer, stoops, petrino, spurrier, etc.) Mack Brown is a true class act. As an experienced SEC and newly educated Big 12 fan. I am aware of several things. Mack Brown gets recruits because Mack Brown is the best combination of a a sincerely good guy and a great coach in NCAA football right now. Texas and OU are the only big 12 teams who belong among the elite in the country and could regularly compete in a conference like the SEC without a problem. Ed is idiotic, Mack Brown is zero as a politician. After complaining about having to play U Michigan in the Rose Bowl a few years back and being unbelievably criticized (especially by the irrelevant Chad Henne) Mack Brown says nothing to campaign to the media. (They demolished U Michigan with roughly the same team they won the championship with in the following year, I wonder if he had a legit complaint, ED?). Also Texas and OU have high octane offenses capable of blowing any insufficient competition out by 50 points. In the SEC, a dominate team not named Florida doesn’t run a spread or score heavy offense, and therefore supperior competition often allows lower competition to stay close score wise. If he thought it helped, Stoops would run up the score on a pop warner team. FYI I attended 10 Texas games this year. Colt McCoy played 3 quarters of most of those games due to blowouts and Texas having class while Bob stoops called play action hail mairys for Bradford as OU was up 40 in the 4th quarter. Class is not a given and Mack Brown has it. Thank you Furman Bisher for reaching outside the Mr. College fball, Tony Barnhart, stretch from gainesville to nashville (football is played outside the SEC Tone). You are one of the few true non-sensationalist sports writers left out there. Keep eloquently telling it as it is and nothing more. Thanks Furman, look forward to Masters Week.
MB Assitant
March 28th, 2009
7:55 am
Great article. Mack is the best, behind DKR, then Muschamp.
Leland
March 28th, 2009
8:24 am
Dear Mr. FB–the sickening part of the Oklahoma method is your comment about it. Here’s why: when standards (criteria) are established for judging the merits of college football teams and teams play the game in accordance with those standards, it is sickening and ill informed to criticize them for it. Your pal, Leland
rush smith
March 28th, 2009
11:19 am
Furman-Always enjoy your column-about 30 years ago we had Coach Royal & Coach Broyles at Anniston Al QB Club-Coach Royal had just retired and at a young age (?51)When asked why since Texas had everything a coach wanted and he had already won a couple of Natl Championships-his reply-I love coaching, I even love practicing but kissing those 18 year old asses gets old in a hurry. I guess that’s one of those things about college football that hasn’t changed but the money sure is better.
Roy
March 28th, 2009
11:55 am
no one writing today can measure up to FB, the standard bearer of sports journalism.
Bo Williams
March 28th, 2009
12:30 pm
Furman, why did you have to bring up MB. We loved him at UNC and he broke our hearts. I doubt that he would have gone anywhere other than Texas. I still really like him, but Butch has done a great job at soothing our pain. I believe Mack still has a soft place in his heart for us.
pete
March 28th, 2009
4:24 pm
Leland,
Common sense would indicate the team that wins by ten points deserves to go to the championship game.Oklahoma is a bad joke.
dean
March 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
I’m impressed. Didn’t know a whole lot about Mack Brown. Sounds like a genuine good guy who wants to do things the right way. Much like coach Richt.
CJ
March 29th, 2009
2:41 pm
As an Atlanta transplant who has lived in Texas for the past 7 years, I have to say your article is “spot on”. Thanks, Mr. Bisher…I am so blessed to be able to read your articles online way out here!
Otto
March 30th, 2009
11:41 am
Mack Brown is a great guy and did get a fair shake at the title. If anything the SEC and others should adopt the Big 12 tie breaker system.
All I'm Saying Is...
March 30th, 2009
2:31 pm
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game. It’s not my fault I played the BCS/politics game and came out ahead…oops,…uh…I guess I came out ahead since we got to play Florida for the championship…Hmmm…now that I think about it after the fact, I’m not sure if I played either game well.” — Bob Stoops.
Mac
March 31st, 2009
8:49 am
I didn’t know Colt McCoy was from humble beginnings. Good. I’ll be even happier for him when the NFL showers him with millions.
Senility
March 31st, 2009
9:47 am
Hey Codger: Thanks for your opinion. Now go back to opining on what you know about: Gene Sarazen, manual typewriters, horse and buggies, etc. Football’s changed alot in the 50+ years since you went to j-school.
Senility
March 31st, 2009
9:51 am
Hey Codger: Thanks for your opinion. Now go back to opining on what you know about: Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, manual typewriters, horse and buggies, etc. Football’s changed alot in the 50+ years since you went to j-school.
Lash La Rue
April 1st, 2009
12:02 am
UGA should go after Jay Wright for Basketball Coach.
Otto
April 1st, 2009
10:16 am
Pete, Common sense would tell you the Big 12 South was a 3 way tie. Texas all but lost to Tx Tech. OU blew Tx Tech out and was thus ranked the highest of the 3 teams. Tx struggled against Ohio St. The Big 12 system worked and OU gave UF the toughest game of the year which is tough to say as an SEC fan.
Mel Derrick
April 5th, 2009
10:08 am
Great column on Mack Brown. I was with him one night at a T
Mel Derrick
April 5th, 2009
10:18 am
Great column on Mack Brown. I was with him at a Tar Heel Blue get-together in Myrtle Beach when he admitted he planned to leave UNC, because his ambition was to win a national championship and there was no chance of that happening in Chapel Hill. Keep up the good work. One question: How is it that you hired me out of Wofford College in 1954, when you were sports editor of the Constitution, and I have been retired for 10 years and you are still typing sports? It ain’t fair. Mel Derrick.
griffdawg1
April 6th, 2009
7:18 am
Good writing but you failed to mention the questionable recruiting tactics used by Mack and his staff. Prostitutes and and drugs are the only thing luring recruits to texas. Just ask Lame Kitten, he’ll tell ya!!