Mack Brown

William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is the current head coach of the Texas Longhorns football team of the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs. The Longhorns beat Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl, Ohio State at The Horseshoe in September 2005, and division rival Oklahoma in 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. 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". On November 27, 2008 Brown achieved his 200th career win, making him the first Texas coach to reach that mark.

Early life
Brown was born as 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. Brown's family had a long history with football. 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.

Early positions
Brown's first experience coaching came as a student coach of wide receivers at Florida State, 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 1980, after going 3–8 the year prior, Iowa State improved their record to 6–5 in large part due to RB Dwayne Crutchfield (1,312 yards with 11 TD) and Mack Brown's offense. The team scored 108 more points that year than they had in 1979. In 1981, despite finishing with a 5–5–1 record, the team started out with a record of 5–1–1. RB Dwayne Crutchfield was again a key focal point in Brown's offense and ran for 1,189 yards with 17 TD.

In 1982, he moved to LSU as the Quarterbacks Coach. The LSU Tigers improved their record to 8–3–1 from 3–7–1 the year prior in large part due to the Mack Brown's coaching of QB Alan Risher who threw for 1,834 yards with 17 TD vs 8 INT. He also completed 63.7% of his pass attempts. Risher had thrown 14 TD in the previous 2 seasons combined before Brown's arrival.

Appalachian State
Brown's first head coaching job came in 1983 when he led Appalachian State to a 6–5 record.

Oklahoma
Brown moved back to a role as offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners during the 1984 season under head coach Barry Switzer. Oklahoma would run for 2,376 yards as a team that season, averaging 216 yards a game. QB Danny Bradley also would throw for nearly 1,000 yards with 8 TD vs 5 INT. RBs Lydell Carr, Steve Sewell, and Spencer Tillman combined to run for 1,651 yards with 12 TD.

Tulane
Brown second head coaching position came with Tulane in 1985, where he also became the school's athletic director. Despite a slow start (a 1–10 record in his first year), he made gradual improvement, but could never quite break the .500 mark, leading 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.

North Carolina
In 1988, Brown took the head coaching job at North Carolina. 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. By comparison, the Tar Heels had won only seven games in the previous three years. Included in the 1990 total was 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 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 coached 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. Largely due to Florida State joining the league in 1992, Brown was unable to win an ACC title—something the Tar Heels haven't done since 1980.

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.

Not long after the end of the 1997 season, Brown accepted the head coaching job at Texas. His defensive coordinator, Carl Torbush, coached the Tar Heels in that year's Gator Bowl. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush. His 69 wins (70 counting the 1998 Gator Bowl) are the second-most in school history, behind only Crum.

Texas
In his early years at UT, Mack Brown is referred to as "Coach February," due to his success in bringing in high talent recruits. 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 Classic. 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 played in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma meant that Texas could not win the south division of the conference unless Oklahoma lost at least two conference games. However, in 1999 Brown led Texas to their second Big 12 title game where they were beaten by a higher ranked Nebraska team that they had beaten earlier in the year. In 2001, Brown took Texas to their 3rd Big 12 title game. 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 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 Classic. His record in these games was 3–3, with two of the three 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 had risen to #5 coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shutout 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 35–7. 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 a non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.

With Texas and California both vying for a spot in the Rose Bowl, Brown received criticism for lobbying on behalf of his team, which many perceived was a factor in UT's Rose Bowl invitation. Cal was denied what would have been their first Rose Bowl bid since 1958. "I thought it was a little classless how Coach Brown was begging for votes," Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters in Berkeley. "I think a team's record and the way you play should speak for itself." Cal's only loss was a 23–17 nailbiter on the road at USC. Cal dominated the game statistically, more than doubling USC in total yardage. The Golden Bears had a first-and-goal from the 9-yard-line with roughly one minute left in the fourth quarter, but could not convert. Meanwhile, Texas' lone loss was a 12–0 defeat to Oklahoma on a neutral field. USC and Oklahoma, the teams Cal and Texas lost to, respectively, went on to play in the national championship game. USC blew out Oklahoma 55–19 in that game. However, Texas fans point to the Holiday Bowl, where Cal was dealt a 45–31 loss at the hands of No. 23 Texas Tech, a team which Texas defeated 51–21 earlier in the season.

Brown's Longhorns accepted the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. It 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 by kicker Dusty Mangum in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.

Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking both a conference championship and a national championship.

2005 season


Texas opened the season ranked #2 behind USC in every preseason poll. Led by quarterback Vince Young, Texas defeated their early opponents easily, including 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 Classic.

After a win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings for the first time since its creation. However, the following week Texas fell back down to #2 in the BCS poll, while USC moved back into the #1 spot. Both teams won all their remaining games, with USC and Texas remaining ranked #1 and #2 throughout the rest of the regular season.

The two teams finally met in the 2006 Rose Bowl in a highly anticipated matchup. It was the first time two teams averaging over 50 points per game had met. The combined 53-game win streak was an NCAA record for teams playing each other and the game was also the first to have teams ranked first and second in every iteration of the BCS standings. The game also featured USC's two Heisman winners, as well as a Heisman finalist in Vince Young. In an up and down game, Texas eventually defeated the 2005 USC Trojans 41–38, highlighted by a 4th down game-winning touchdown run by Vince Young in the final minute. The win gave the Longhorns their first national championship in 35 years.

2006 season
As the defending national champions, Texas began the season ranked #2 in the optimistic pre-season polls, having replaced the NFL-departed quarterback Vince Young with freshman Colt McCoy. The Longhorns however lost convincingly to #1 ranked Ohio State in the second game of the season in Austin. The Horns quickly rebounded to win seven straight games (including a second straight win over nemesis Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout) to climb into the Big 12 South driver's seat and entertain thoughts of a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship, but in the season's 10th game McCoy was injured and Texas was shocked on the road at Kansas State. After the loss, the Horns returned home still needing a final win to clinch the Big 12 South, and even though McCoy returned for the annual matchup Texas was again shocked, losing, 12–7, to intrastate rival Texas A&M. The loss snapped UT's six-game winning streak over the Aggies and the horns settled for the Alamo Bowl where Texas defeated a 6–6 Iowa team in a close game to cap off a 10 win season.

2007 season
Mack Brown entered his 10th season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns with a record of 93–22 setting a new mark above 0.8 winning percentage (.809), the best in Longhorn history. The 2007 Texas Longhorns football team began play ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage, and were ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls.

Despite expectations, prior to and during the season a total of seven UT players were suspended for various infractions. 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.” The negative publicity was more extensive than in past instances but Mack Brown publicly supported the players while denouncing their actions.

For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among buyers of Collegiate Licensing Company. UT used 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, bringing his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeping him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also contained provisions for 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." Brown's contract was extended through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.

For the football season, Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected. In their next game Texas was beaten for a second year in a row by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21 through play with no turnovers and 21 combined points from defense and special teams. It marked the second time since the founding of the Big XII conference that The Golden Lasso trophy awarded to the winner of the Chisholm Trail Rivalry resided in Manhattan, KS. for at least two consecutive years. The Kansas State Cats 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. The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997, and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas. Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21. 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. But that was as bad as it got for Mack Brown during the first decade of the 21st century. 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, the third longest of all time in FBS history, trailing Florida State's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami's 8 from 1985–92.

2008 season
The 2008 Texas Longhorns football team entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder, Colorado and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 103rd Red River Shootout. It was the third UT win in four seasons, and the first time in Brown's tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout.

Following the victory over OU, the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP, ESPN/USA Today, and Harris Polls. In their next game they secured a win over #11 Missouri in Austin, setting a new school, state, and conference attendance record in the process. It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the #1 team in the AP. Texas' reign at the top of the BCS standings was soon brought to an end; however, by the then seventh-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech. In a game played before a record-setting national television audience on November 1, 2008, the Longhorns, who trailed the entire game, took the lead with one minute and twenty-eight seconds remaining on the clock. Texas Tech then scored a comeback touchdown on the last second of the fourth quarter to win the game 39–33, keeping Texas out of the Big 12 Championship Game and national title pictures. Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns longest running-rivalry opponent. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record in 2008 by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. Texas would go on to win the 2009 Fiesta Bowl by beating Ohio State, 24–21.

Notable statistics and accomplishments

 * 2005 NCAA Football National Championship (game played in January, 2006)
 * 2005 NCAA Football Coach of the Year
 * 20 consecutive winning seasons
 * 18 consecutive bowl game appearances
 * 162 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll from 2000–2010 and 192 consecutive weeks ranked in the coach's poll from 1998–2010.
 * Big 12 Conference record 21 consecutive conference wins from 2004–2006.
 * Player awards at Texas under Brown include a Heisman Trophy winner (Ricky Williams), three Maxwell Award winners (Ricky Williams, Vince Young, Colt McCoy), two Davey O'Brien Award Winners (Vince Young, Colt McCoy), 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, three 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, nine consecutive 10-win seasons and ten consecutive 9-win campaigns for the first time in school history. However, Texas played a maximum of only 11 games per season up until 1975 and only 12 games per season up until 1995 (including conference championship and bowl game).
 * 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 (again, note the longer seasons in recent decades).
 * 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 3,000 yards (3,036) in a single season.
 * Under Brown's tenure, only five players have left the Texas team for the NFL Draft with any eligibility remaining. The first was Kwame Cavil who went undrafted. 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 and were both drafted in the 3rd round (73rd and 91st overall, respectively). Earl Thomas left Texas after the 2009 season and was drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Other players, such as Jevan Snead have elected to transfer to other schools.
 * From 2001 through 2009, Brown has won 10 or more games each year. This is the longest active streak of seasons with 10+ wins in the nation.
 * Through 2011, the Longhorns under Brown were 29–16 against their four archrivals: Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas Tech.
 * The Longhorns are 10–4 in Bowl games under Brown.
 * With Bobby Bowden's retirement after the 2009 season, Brown is first among all active coaches with 20 consecutive winning seasons.(until his losing season in 2010–2011 5–7)
 * Mack Brown won the 2008 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award from the Bobby Dodd Foundation.
 * In 2012 he was elected third vice president of the American Football Coaches Association which places him in line per AFCA tradition to move up one level each year until becoming president in 2015.

Outside of football
Mack Brown is married to his wife, Sally. They have 4 children: Matt Jessee, Katherine Ryan, 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 Browns 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.

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 [ Coach Taylor ] think he is? Mack Brown? He's 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.

He appears in commercials for College GameDay where he sings "Texas Fight" with the GameDay crew; when Kirk Herbstreit freestyles the song, Brown looks at Herbstreit sternly and says "We don't freestyle 'Texas Fight', big boy."

Salary controversy
In 2009 Brown's annual salary was increased to $5 million (excluding bonuses and incentives), a raise of about $2 million. This created controversy on the UT campus during a time when academic programs were facing significant cutbacks. On December 14, 2009, the UT faculty council held a special meeting to consider the following resolution:

"We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and, especially, the student-athletes, to the community of the University of Texas at Austin. However, at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes, and lecturers, teaching assistants, and staff are facing job terminations, we believe a permanent raise of $2 million (a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate."

Head coaching record
* Brown left for Texas shortly after the end of the 1997 regular season. Carl Torbush coached the Tar Heels in the 1998 Gator Bowl. North Carolina credits the regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush. ^ Due to tiebreakers, Texas did not compete in the Big 12 Championship game.