Mack's Third Act

I appreciated the original article and I appreciate this one, too. History does support your earlier assertions, but something in the air seems to be undermining that assertion. These things, iconic coaching eras, do usually end bad. I think Mack may very well be setting up one of the sweetest rides into the sunset a Texan has ever enjoyed. Like you, I hope so.

assuming Mack leaves well enough alone

The very crux of the matter.

If he does, I predict all will be well.

If he does not, it will be better than last year and whet our appetites for a domineering 2012… which will not happen.

Didn’t realize that “losing to Iowa State” is actually the fourth stage of grief. That makes me feel better.

Neat take, jonestopten. Drop in more often.

Brilliant stuff, Jones TT. Missed you. Love your weekly updates — a highlight of my reading/thinking during college football season.

I’d mildly challenge the Darrell Royal comparison. Coupla things happened to pin three straight 6-4s on DKR on the heels of his MNC in 1963 and near-misses in ‘62 and ’64. First, Texas got so good, so fast, that the pipeline was clogged with should-have-been starters (no scholly limits back then; we were signing 45, 50 a year), that UT had a couple of off-years on the recruiting front. Kids went elsewhere so they could get on the field. Also, Darrell’s staff was decimated as top assistants accepted promotions and raises from other schools. You’re right, though, on his change of philosophy. Darrell loved one-platoon, conservative, win with defense and the kicking game football. He relented when he allowed — some would say spurred — Emory Bellard into creating the wishbone.

As for Mack, Darrell never would have permitted a team to quit the way Texas quit last October. His ’65 and ’66 teams finished strong and his ’67 team lost four games by less than a touchdown while dealing with crippling injuries. I give Mack credit for cleaning house. The recruiting momentum seems to have been maintained. My concern is whether Mack made the right hires at the coordinator and O-line positions.

Again, welcome back.

“Bryan Harsin and Manny Diaz don’t really believe in overwhelming talent advantage, largely because they have never had it.”

That was my favorite line in your article. Predicting the future makes us all look like fools. But recognizing what is – is true wisdom. Mack recognized that Boise was innovative. he basically said “I want me some of that.” He looked at what wasn’t working and asked, “Who is doing it better?” and “How can I get them to do it here?” I am excited not just by my imagined “future Horns” but by what we are doing right now.

Brilliant stuff, jtt.

I think 2005 Larry Coker pulled a “blow up this ship” strategy and fired 4 assistant coaches while he was at Miami. I don’t think he made it as meticulous as Mack Brown did but nonetheless, it remains to be seen how successful Mack Brown is this year. If he can’t right the ship in two seasons and get to 9 wins at least… He is out.

This is one of your best articles and I can see why you are wondering if he can change. He can but I can’t post here why. If you want to write me an email, since you have my address, I would tell you in confidence.

I will add a story, that evidences the ability to change. Several years ago I read one of Kirk Bohls’ columns and sent him an email where I gave an unfavorable opinion of GD. Kirk replied to my email and in the reply stated that Mack would NEVER get rid of GD because they were old fishing buddies and had been together too long. After that, I gave up on ever getting rid of GD. Then it happened. Mack is a reasonable person and can change. He listens well.

If you do write where I can send you a personal message I’ll tell you about that and throw in a story about Royal.

Mack didn’t channel his own youth as much as he has outsourced it.
Nail, meet hammer—and “buh-bye.”

Insightful and relevant; well done.

Great, great article. I was not one of the many who was calling for Mack’s head. I like him as the CEO of Texas football as well as the ambassador of Texas Football. That being said, if he hadn’t gotten rid of the coaches who had become fat, lazy and entitled, I would have been dead wrong. I hope and think that the changes will pay off in a big way. There seems to be a new sense of urgency on the 40, and that is good.

Thanks for the enjoyable read and sharing your optimism after sounding the Mack death knell last year.

I would say that one reason you never see coaches hit reset successfully like Mack hopes to is that coaches simply don’t last long enough presently to build, conquer, fall and rise again. Most programs would have required a builder coach for 5-6 years and then turned to someone else to get to the next level.

You mentioned Jim Tressel at the end of your article – it’s easy to forget that in Mack’s first five years he had more in common with John Cooper than any other big time program coach.

How he handles the QB situation should things go poorly to start the season should also be instructive on what to expect out of the rest of Act III.

very well written and reasoned article, jtt. its inspiring to see someone on the internet live up to what they had previously written, recognize that things had not gone as predicted, and revise their hypothesis accordingly. i hope youre right, and i hope harsin and diaz and the other new hires can bring back that texas swagger.

Well done Adam!

I believe Mack has learned the lessons. As someone else said, we will know that very soon with QB situation. Act IV will be whether, if he turns it back to True North, he will revert to the old ways before passing the baton or go ahead and leave on top.

also, i liked your comment about florida doing us a favor by hiring muschamp. the main thing that worried me about coach boom as the hciw was that he would change the whole culture of the head coach at texas. he definitely didnt strike me as a ceo type, despite all of mack’s tutelage. what happens to our recruiting when someone else becomes the coaching flavor of the week for recruits? obviously its immaterial now, but it was definitely a concern at the time.

JTT, excellent read, thank you very much. I also hope you were wrong about Mack. UT and Mack both back on the top is what we all really want….even those who have called for Mack’s head. We all know what you have with Mack off the field…A Class Act CEO of Texas Football. With new head coaches, even proven ones, you are never really sure how the transition is going to go. I believe Texas would be one of the harder places in College Football for a coach to transition to. So hopefully we keep winning and Mack retires after the third straight National Championship instead of the first!

I’ve seen a few comments (wouldn’t say rumors) thrown out there suggesting Mack might replace Mr. Dodds when he retires. I’d be interested in knowing what everyone’s opinion about that is.

And by first, I meant next National Championship (first one of Act III).

That’s so well done. Excellent piece, Mr. Jones. If only a quarter of journalists would put that much critical thinking into their work, we’d all be happier.

This article… This article makes me so happy that Al Gore created the internet.

Well done, sir.

Great read. But its the program that suffers at the end of the day, at the end of the year, in failure to change the obvious.

“My premise was that, for the elite coaches, once they start going bad, they don’t recover. They simply quit; or worse, they don’t, even though they should”

It is almost like a continued glorification of self entitlement, which IMO may ooze out onto the staff and players, hence a lack of effort and sub par results…maybe?

Superb work, Mr. Jones.

I was not at all sanguine about Mack’s chances of leading any kind of renaissance as last season was spiraling down the tubes. My repeated quote was, “Sixty year old men don’t have epiphanies very often.” How much of the subsequent staff turnover was truly Mack-driven vs. being forced upon him is certainly debateable, but he seems to deserve full marks for bringing in a young, hungry, smart and forward-thinking bunch of coaches who, at first glance, seem to shore up all the areas where he (and the program) have been weak.

Fairly or unfairly, the decision on our starting QB is likely to serve as the first litmus test for those wondering if we’re seeing the “Old Mack” or the “New Mack” in action.

Great writeup! I would add one more subdivision to Mack’s history. I think Act I ended after 2003 when he forced out Reese. It probably should have been Davis AND Reese, but I think that from then on, Brown started to realize the value of assistants who want to be HC’s vs older assistants who are happy to stay in that role forever. I remember how awesome that ‘04 defense was to watch compared to the previous few years, and I’m looking forward to a similar breakout for the offense this year.

His strategy was overwhelming talent advantage:

“I have more resources than you. I will use them. Because of this, the best players will come to my program. Then, my players will be better than yours. If they play even competent football, then my team wins.”

I agree that that was (gulp still is?) Mack’s strategy.

However, it frightens me to have seen so many fans be ok w/ this strategy, when it apparently didn’t include top-notch coaching (teaching of technique, game-planning, game-time adjustment).

How can Mack be so great is he had such a BIG blind spot?

Mack gave himself a great gift by skipping all this nonsense and going straight to the 5-7 implosion. It gave him no choice but to execute a complete overhaul. How much he was actually pressured to do so may be lost to history

Who here believes Mack wasn’t under TREMENDOUS pressure by the Big Cigars to get rid of GD GD?

In addition, it’s not as if all of the dead weight has been jettisoned. Mad Dog is still pulling in beaucoup bucks by sitting there being fat. And does Chambers really coach the TEs? I know there have been injuries, but the position has been a mess for way too long.

Should read: How can Mack be so great if he had such a BIG blind spot?

Granted that Mack blends his superior talent tactic with bringing in the guys who’ve been getting it done with less, this team should be great in a couple seasons. This could all be scrapped though if the QB situation is tinkered with by Mack to get the wrong guy in there.

All in all, this was a fantastic read and I’m happy I clicked on it.

Food for thought… dkr had one nat’l championship year & then slid to three consecutive 6-4 seasons …..
result: enter Emory Bellard & 2 more championships.
BELLARD goes by a different name now HARSIN.
Texas had championship caliber talent while going 6-4 those years but won championships when utilizing that same talent schemed different ….
And we begin anew….
We’ll be back & it’ll happen fast.
Hookem. & Hookem hard

Articles like this are what make this site so worthwhile. Terrific work, jtt. Thanks.

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. No better place to be than BC.

It strikes me that our collective memory holds a lot of transition years like this one—and Texas has a helluva record in most of them:

1968 Royal’s end to mediocrity, Bill Bradley to defense, Street takes control and we start a 30 game streak

1977 Royal burns out, but leaves behind a talented squad and a fully operational Earl Campbell; Akers damn near wins the national title

The McWilliams and Mackovic transitions were not exceptional, but

1998 Mack arrives, talks Ricky into staying and Texas is back faster than anyone expected

2011 — Mack again, Does he pull the Royal, 1968? I sure as hell hope so…

In my humble opinion – what UT has now in Deloss Dodds and Mack Brown is the most dynamic and innovative duo that college football has ever seen.
I don’t think it is a stretch or arrogant to say that they have placed UT in a position that is almost bigger than mainstream football. The facts speak for themselves.

DKR was a Godsend but Mack is almost godly.

All this aside, there is, unfortunately, a finite limit to succes in college football and Mack is reaching the end of his. He should plan on stepping down and tutoring the next head coach on how to maintain the UT success.

Someone let me know if I’m way off base, here.

As I see it, Texas ruined Nebraska’s recruiting model with the creation of the Big XII. The NCAA ruined Mack Brown’s talent-advantage model beginning in 2003, with the emphasis on progress toward degree rather than just admissions standards. Essentially, the NCAA made it easier to get kids into school in exchange for making it harder to keep them there.

The result is that everyone has crazy speed (Temple?), so Mack’s conservative, 90’s model of just rolling over people with superior talent doesn’t apply. The staff has also screwed up on evaluation and development, but that’s a whole other story.

I also get the impression that NCAA enforcement of the 20-hour/week limit on practice has moved from “working fiction” to “no, we’re serious” in the last few years.

The result is that seeking a schematic advantage, which used to be seen as the mark of a lesser program punching above its weight (e.g., BYU in the 90’s), has been more decisive than a personnel advantage, which is harder to maintain.

So, we have two new co-/coordinators whose stated goal is to use their 20 hrs./week to teach things that their opponents can’t prepare for with their 20 hrs./week. It’s not just that Diaz and Harsin are used to working with inferior talent (they are), it’s that they’re young enough to know the world has changed.

In this case, given a certain minimum threshold of performance, the Ash/Gilbert decision is not the acid test for New Mack vs Old Mack that many seem to assume, many who are thinking in the same terms they were when Mack gave his first speech upon accepting the job. Of course, that’s a huge given.

Hmmmmm, looks like the NCAA may be revisiting the initial eligibility issue again some time soon.

The APR only makes sense if you discount players who turn professional before their senior year, IMO——that is, if I even understand it. For example, when Durant left, if he had acheived the appropriate progress toward at the time when he left, did that not count agains us?

Also, are full cost of attendance schollies the same as the “pay for play” Delaney was pushingrecently? If so, they still seem to be oblivious to the effect of Title IX here. Someone educate me here but, since there are often few full rides in non-revenue sports at most schools (and that includes baseball), would that offset the Title IX effect to any significant degree, or would the new ruling on schollies, if adopted, eliminate partial scholarships altogether?

The APR only makes sense if you discount players who turn professional before their senior year, IMO—-that is, if I even understand it.

That’s what I thought. But apparently that’s no longer the case:

The NCAA does adjust APR, on a student-by-student basis, in two circumstances—when a player transfers to another school with a sufficiently high GPA, or leaves for a professional sports career while still in good academic standing. In the 2010–11 cycle, the NCAA granted nearly 700 APR adjustments in the latter category, out of a total of over 6,400 Division I teams. Nearly half of the adjustments were for baseball players.2

Someone let me know if I’m way off base, here.

The result is that seeking a schematic advantage, which used to be seen as the mark of a lesser program punching above its weight (e.g., BYU in the 90′s), has been more decisive than a personnel advantage, which is harder to maintain.

Way off. I don’t see any evidence that there is more talent parity across college football since 2003, or that the teams that recruit the best don’t still dominate. A breakdown of recruiting rankings versus final poll finish over the past five years:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Star-Power-Recruiting-gurus-track-record-at-th?urn=ncaaf-312394

Thanks, Spider! That makes a helluva lot more sense and explains why our basketball and baseball programs haven’t blown us out of the water, espcially in the past five years. Also, in baseball, it make sense that there are more adjustments due to the semester ending at about the same time as the conference tourneys and the draft.

bds: Yeah, I’d much rather see a comparison with winning percentage that also addresses the full period in question. Also, comparing five-year averages in recruiting rankings to the AP ranking in the terminal year doesn’t allow for outlier years and makes assumptions about player contributions and whether we give a damn what sports writers think.