The Eyes of Texas are Upon Brown

by: Everett Starling
Managing Editor
© More from this issue

          
The youthful looking forty-something coach had told everyone who would listen he wasn't going anywhere. His team, the media, the fans. North Carolina had become home, and he was just dandy there, thank you.

Kids in school. Roots. A wife with a lucrative land development business.

Perhaps more compelling, Mack Brown had a top ten program two-years running, a program he had nutured from the brink of abandonment 10 years before.

Those close to Brown, personally and professionally had seen the man champion through two 1-10 seasons and a divorce from his college sweetheart to work hard, building and earning the good things in life: a top-notch staff; a Tar Heel program kids didn't have to be pleaded into visiting anymore; a team that was growing an identity in the shadow of one of the nation's basketball dynasties; and yes, a happy and fulfilling marriage.

But Texas was just one of those things. The resources. A hotbed of recruits waiting to be harvested. The facilities. The fans. The tradition. The will and expectation to have it all. Football first.

Eventually, those factors all added up to one thing: Mack Brown was going to leave a North Carolina family near and dear to his heart to go to a place, while somewhat unfamiliar, a place that presented a challenge and beckoning unlike any other.

On Monday, December 1, Brown told his team that he wasn't a candidate for the recently-vacated job at the University of Texas. Why leave? But halfway across the country, he was being fingered by Longhorn athletic director DeLoss Dodds and the Texas search committee as one of only two men they wanted.

And in Texas, especially when it comes to Longhorn football, money talks and bullstuff literally walks into the desert and dies.

On Tuesday, December 2, Brown was contacted in Atlanta while at the ACC's football banquet. He agreed to listen to the hiring committee, a body that included Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds, Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal, several former players from Royal's coaching days, and several notable 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 an affair that included a Tuesday night exploratory meeting with Northwestern's Gary Barnett in Chicago.

Wednesday would come, and set in motion a chain of events that would change the life of Brown and two programs forever.

"We had a great situation, I think a situation where we planned on staying there for the rest of our lives-sincerely," Brown said. "When this one came up, it was like something said, 'This is something you should consider.' I really think that if we hadn't moved at this time we would have ever left North Carolina."

A Time to Remember

While many of the youths around the country were caught up in the social and politcal climate of the time, Brown was concentrating on playing football.

The product of a disciplined home with an early curfew and coaching in its blood (grandfather Eddie "Jelly" Watson is still a Tennessee legend and father Melvin Brown was also a coach and administrator), coaching and playing were in Mack's blood at a young age.

And while Brown was recruitied by Paul "Bear" Bryant after a stellar three-sport career at Putnam County High School, he attended Vanderbilt and later would graduate from Florida State-starting a career as a graduate assistant after injury shut down his playing career.

Meanwhile, Darrell Royal was redefining success in the hearts and minds of Longhorn lettermen and supporters.

"When I was coming out of high school in the late '60s and going to college, Texas was winning national championships. It's a time here that is certainly important," Brown said.

The Longhorns indeed won National Championships in 1969 and 1970. Such achievement created a thirst for success that has seen several winning suitors drive through Austin and get shown the door because they didn't bring home more of the "ultimate" reward.

Ten-Gallon Pockets and Expectations

It was no surprise to football pundits or fans around the country when Texas decided to make a change after a 4-7 season in 1997, reassigning John Mackovic. Though Mackovic had won 41 games in six seasons, highlighted by a darkhorse Big 12 Championship win over Nebraska in 1996, alumni support-which has always translated to big money in the Lone Star state-had fractured.

There was a feeling amongst administrators, headed by University Regents and Dodds, that grass roots support of the program had dwindled-relationships with state high school coaches weren't what they were during Texas' heyday.

It wasn't even what it was perceived to be under the tenures under Fred Akers (86-31-20 from 1977-86) or David McWilliams (31-26-2, 1987-91), both dismissed-Akers with a .731 winning percentage and McWilliams (not unlike Mackovic, moved to a non-coaching post) a year after receiving a five-year extension.

In 1967, even Royal, who had already won a national title (1963), was challenged by Frank Erwin, the chairman of the Texas Board of Regents. Had Erwin succeeded in ousting Royal, he would have prevented the icon from stringing together 30-straight wins and the '69 and '70 crowns.

Perhaps Dallas Morning News columnist Frank Luksa put Texas football in the proper perspective after Brown's hire.

"The most accurate expression of the value Texas places on its football coach occured during the 1950s. Two events had sent the Forty Acres campus into an uproar. President Logan Wilson raised academic standards and Ed Price was coaching the Longhorns to a 1-9 record.

"Hung in effigy once, Logan noted the sighting of three dummies of a dangling Price. So he said: 'I guess the only job more demanding than the president is the football coach.'"

Clearly, the progress of Longhorn football under Mackovic wasn't suitable to Texas administrators. Not unlike Price some 40 years before, Mackovic clearly had become a target of restless fans.

Dodds, backed by alumni deep pockets that would continue to pay Mackovic's guaranteed salary of over $600,000 per year, made the decision to make a change the day after a season-ending 27-16 loss to Texas A&M.

A Gut Wrenching Decision

Brown met with Dodds, Royal and the rest of the committee on Wednesday, December 3, in the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta.

Royal knew Brown well. When Brown had taken over the Tulane program as head coach and athletic director at the tender age of 33, he had asked the retired Royal to come to New Orleans and offer an evaluation of his program.

Memories of the trip bring a smile to Brown's face to this day.

"I can remember walking out onto the field with Coach Royal. We had half a practice field that was dusty, and I asked Coach what he thought. He said, 'Where's your practice field?' Then our team came out. He said, 'Where's your varsity?'

"I knew then that we were in trouble."

At Tulane, the Green Wave went from a hapless 1-10 Brown's first season (1985) to a 6-6 bowl team in his third and final. From the early days and horrible losses after which Brown can still remember feeling frustrated enough to hide in his car and cry, North Carolina went from 2-20 in his first two seasons to the cusp of becoming an Alliance Bowl power.

The committee sensed Brown was the man they wanted. Obviously impressed, Dodds put the ball in Brown's court-offering him the job on the spot.

"My first impression of the meeting with first, Tom Hicks and DeLoss, and then the full committe-which Coach Royal was involved-is that they were really serious about going back and trying to win all the games with great kids who can graduate," Brown said. "There was a definite commitment towards this new facility (Texas is undergoing a major football facility and stadium facelift), towards the academics. It was evident it would be a good time to come to Texas, a great time to step foward. Our question was just could we step away from one of the best situations in the country to go to another one."

Among the other lures, a sizeable pay raise to about $750,000 a year (which could climb to as high as $1 million with incentives), and a similar amount to go out and recruit high caliber assistants who loved the game, were familiar with college ball, and could fit in at Texas.

"As I sat there, I felt like a recruit who was torn between two schools. It made me appreciate the decision a little bit more, but we knew we couldn't go wrong regardless of what we did."

Brown tentatively accepted, but went back home with wife Sally to mull the decision, meeting with his staff on Thursday morning to consider their input-and still not completely sure himself. North Carolina officials offered a longer, richer contract than Dodds and the committee had put forth. At 2:30, Brown says he finally made the decision he could be comfortable with, calling UNC athletic director Dick Baddour to resign. 15 minutes later, he called Dodds to accept the UT position.

Then came the hard part. The team meeting at 3 p.m. An emotional Brown didn't have to speak, the look on his face and the rivers of tears in his eyes moved mountains.

"It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in sports. People talked about the pressure of losing and all that. I loved these young guys. So it was very difficult for me to walk in," said Brown. "There's a lot of different reasons you change jobs, and a lot of them were not reasons that I should have discussed with those players at that time because it wasn't relevant to them.

"But they gave me a standing ovation as I left that room that day," Brown continued. "And that was harder than if they would have all screamed and cussed me, because it even made me feel worse."

Thursday night, Brown flew to Austin. He was introduced to a enthusiastic crowd on Friday. The Brown Era of Burnt Orange had begun.

Life as a Longhorn

Brown says his decision was made easier by knowing North Carolina wasn't heading to an alliance bowl. Had the Tar Heels gone, Brown would still be in Chapel Hill sitting in the newly redesigned coaching complex where former defensive coordinator Carl Torbush now roosts.

The UNC administration decided against allowing Brown to coach in the Gator Bowl, a decision that initially angered Brown but which, in retrospect, he agrees with.

He landed on his feet in Austin, bringing offensive coordinator Greg Davis, tight ends coach Tim Brewster, wide receiver coach Cleve Bryant (now assistant AD for football operations), and strength coach Jeff Madden from North Carolina. He moved swiftly, luring Carl Reese (defensive coordinator) from LSU among his other hires. Not surprisingly, college experience and ties to Texas abound.

Brown, who had to win the battle for in-state recruits when he first came to Carolina, understands the role the state's talent and high school coaches play in turning the program around. Seven of his staff have coached in Texas high school or college programs before. Running backs coach Bruce Chambers was the head coach at powerful Carter High School for 15 years.

"We've been able to hire a great staff, I think, one of the best in the country. It's a staff that fits high school football in the state of Texas, which is important to us and this state," said Brown of a spring that included over 100 speaking engagements the declining of over 400 more in an effort to reach out to coaches, alums, media and friends of the program.

The road is not going to be easy for Brown in the initial stages. While the recruiting season was widely regarded as a successful one considering the late start and the decision of all-world running back Ricky Williams to return for his senior season, the defense is a slow one against a 1998 schedule that includes top-25 teams in UCLA, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and, of course, tradtitional grudge match foes Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The plan, not unlike the one that broke Carolina thru, is to press and stress.

There's bound to be some growing pains, but Brown knows the expectations in Texas are longer than the border between the Lone Star state and Mexico. He knew it when he was hired, and has no problem shouldering the demands, because he has no less of an expectation himself. Brown too, knows sustained success isn't built overnight. He's been there.

"It will be a challenge for us, a challenge we're all excited about," said Brown, noting the play of quarterback Richard Walton will be a key to '98 as defenses key on Williams. "But if we have some tough times early in the season, we can't go in the tank and not play with the same enthusiam and confidence. ... We want to be a much better football team at the end of the year than we are at the beginning."

"As far as presssure from expectations, I think every coach in his right mind wants to win all the games and he's very honestly disappointed if he doesn't," Brown continued. "We still want to win. We want not only to win the Big 12 championship, but win the national championship. That's one of the reasons we came. It's proven that this is one of the schools that can do it, because it's been done here before."

It most certainly has. And you can bet there are hundreds of thousands of people engrained with rawhide in their blood who rage to see Bevo the bull run the field in a national championship game.

But with the ability to recruit, a demeanor that allows him to be at home in corporate board rooms or small town smoky pool halls, and the proven ability to assemble a top-notch staff, perhaps Brown can out-Texas Texas.

One thing's for damn sure. There are plenty of people watching.

NEW BOOK!

Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach