Mack Brown-- a Tale of Two Eras

Mack Brown's first era lasted from 1998-2009.

Mack Brown brought Texas to the Promised Land-- under the winged feet of Vince Young in 2005. Confetti fell down from the rafters as Vince spread his arms wide in the cool air of a southern California night. Texas football had been brought back, revived from the post-Darrell Royal malaise-- and Mack Brown was the master at the control switch.

Mack Brown always had the gift for recruitment. He convinced Ricky Williams to stay for a senior season. Ricky won the Heisman in 1998 made Mack a winner in that very first season.

Mack recruited Vince Young. Mack always seemed uncomfortable on the sidelines but Vince reassured him that night-- never doubting even as the minutes ebbed away with Texas falling behind the mighty USC Trojans. Vince had done it before on many occasions and he did it again, brought Texas a last second victory, with the whole world watching. Texas had won its first national championship since 1970!

And after Vince, came Colt McCoy. Colt was like a young horse loosened from a small town football atmosphere and born ready for the big spotlight in Austin. Colt beat out Jevan Snead for the starting QB position. Over four years he averaged more than 10 victories per season. Something happened after Colt. The tide turned. Well the Tide, the Alabama Tide that is, knocked Colt out of the 2009 national championship football game and turned the tide of Texas football. Garrett Gilbert, a much heralded true freshman, came it as Colt's replacement and so began the long slide that brings us to the present moment-- the end of the Mack Brown Second Era.

The second era of Mack Brown goes from 2010-2013. Gilbert was no Vince Young, not another Colt McCoy. The mojo of Texas football disappeared with alarming rapidity. Was it anybody's fault? Maybe Mack Brown's fault? Had the game passed him by? Did he lack the talent for picking quarterbacks-- missing out at a time when RGIII and Johnny Manziel were graduating from Texas high schools? Maybe landing great quarterbacks includes an element of luck. Mack won twice, with Vince and Colt. He was due for a setback, according to the laws of the football gods. Mack never did anything grievous like Mike Shanahan, the Redskins coach, gambling a young RGIII's career by playing him injured in his very first year.

So give Mack Brown a measure of credit. He's a class act when the classiest act means looking out for the welfare of your players.  But his second era has been a kind of slow torture for Texas fans. Very little to get excited about-- and football fandom is all about getting excited. The football fan has no match when it comes to visceral devotion to an object of adoration, the team... with the possible exception of the stock market maven and his love of hurtling numbers-- the tumble of digits when stocks go up and down. But an adrenaline driven audience has no tolerance for long, drawn out suffering. Adrenaline wants to fight or flight. If the fight results in victory, you keep the coach. If the fight results in defeat, it's time for the coach to fly. Very little room for grey in the black and white world of the win/loss column. Mack's second era showed too many losses. And the show must go on.