Mack Brown's Winning Tradition

University of Texas Head Coach, Mack Brown, is entering year 12 of what has been a remarkable run with the boys from Austin.  Brown holds a record of 113-25 over his tenure at Texas and continues to produce results. 

When Mack Brown first inherited the head coaching duties, the Texas football program was in the middle of a major slump.  Previous coach John Mackovic had produced a mediocre Longhorn team that finished an awful 4-7 in 1997.

Brown was approached by Texas Athletic Director Deloss Dodds while he was coaching at North Carolina.  Brown was a proven winner and had a certain "it" factor that made him a top candidate to turn the ship around.

He would do just that.

In his first year at Texas, Brown guided the 'Horns to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl.  Fans started warming up to the calm, collected Brown, who kept his team focused and made good use of the talent he had inherited.

That year, Ricky Williams would go on to win the Heisman Trophy and Texas was once again relevant on the college football map.

Mack Brown established a new-look offense with the help of his long time friend, Greg Davis.

Mackovic had been a pass-happy coach who made little use of talented running backs Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams.  Brown quickly changed the offense to a more balanced attack that utilized a strong running game.

From his first year on, Texas would produce a 1,000-yard rusher each season, starting with Ricky Williams in 1998.

After a wonderful first season, Brown soon got a sense of what pressure from a huge fan base feels like.

Major Applewhite served as the starting QB for the Longhorns during the 1998 season.  The next year, Brown would recruit high school phenom QB Chris Simms.  A controversy arose, dividing the massive Texas fan base.

Simms had the athletic build (6'5", 220 pounds) while Applewhite had the accuracy and the ability to rally the team in crucial situations.  The next few years would prove to be the toughest of Mack Brown's time at Texas.

Brown was heavily scrutinized for winning games against weaker opponents, but losing the ones that mattered.  Texas lost five-straight games to the Oklahoma Sooners, each loss seemingly worse than the last.

He earned the nickname "Coach February" for his ability to recruit good players, but fail to use them when it mattered most (much like Mackovic).

For all the turmoil and skepticism, Brown would lead the 'Horns to double-digit wins from the 2002 season onward.  He racked up win after win, including six-straight wins over the Aggies of Texas A&M.

In 2002, Mack Brown stumbled upon the ultimate weapon: a 6'5", fleet footed QB from Madison High School in Houston.  Vince Young would be the solution to Texas' big game woes.

Following a 12-0 loss to OU in 2004, Mack Brown sat with his young QB and discussed what needed to be done to right the ship.  He came to the conclusion that he needed to set Young free and allow him to use his remarkable talents. 

From then on, Texas would go on to win 20-straight games, two BCS games, and the school's first National Title in 35 years.

Mack Brown had finally gotten over the hump. A Texas program that had been knocking on the door of a National Title for quite some time had finally broken through. 

All the near misses, broken hearts, and hard feelings were washed away on a night when two historic teams met in one of the most exciting games of all time.  Brown had finally done what he had set out to do nearly 30 years before.

He has placed Texas firmly among the top schools in College Football.  He has led Texas to six consecutive 10-win seasons and back-to-back 11-win seasons (2001-2002, 2004-2005).

He showed he could win even without Vince Young, turning young Colt McCoy into the next Texas star.  In the two seasons following the National Title run, Texas would win 10 games yet again.

Brown's Bowl record at Texas now stands at 7-3, the latest of which was a 52-34 beatdown of No. 11 Arizona State in the 2008 Holiday Bowl.

Mack Brown has proven that hard work and patience pay off, especially with a storied program like Texas.  He has won the hearts of thousands and will most certainly continue to win games while wearing the burnt orange.