Hi. Nice To Meet You. Can We Argue?

by PB @ BON on Aug 10, 2006 8:19 AM CDT in Football

Now that we have the welcomes out of the way, it's time to tear into Rakes of Mallow's first post! SBN's newest bloggers offer up an excellent breakdown of the title contenders, which includes, of course, a look at Texas.

Before I quibble, I'll note that you should read the whole post. It's well written, with very strong analysis. The Texas section included.

The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was this Texas "con":

Even though he was behind the national title last year, I find myself not fully believing in Mack Brown. He's always been a sensational recruiter and he's always had basically the same level of talent we'll be seeing him field this year, but he didn't win his first Big XII title until this past season. I think Young was the difference maker, a transcendent vessel of pigskin glory that simply would not lose, regardless of who was running the show. With Number 10 gone, I find it difficult to believe that Texas will slip back into its very good, but not championship-level, rate of ten wins a season.

I could easily let that slide, but CW's a smart kid and can handle some tough love. CW, that paragraph is beneath you.

One of the things you hear over and over is that Mack Brown "just" recruits masterfully and "only" wins 10 games every year. And gosh, without that transcendent Man-God Vince Young, he'd still be title-less.

Pardon me, but what, precisely, would you like him to do other than what he's doing? Isn't the job of a great coach these days to recruit like crazy, keep your program clean, win a bunch of games, and try to line up all the talent for a national title run? Is there really anything meaningful in dinging Mack Brown for Chris Simms' inability to win a big game? Are we supposed to believe that Mack Brown got lucky with his national title? That a diaper-clad Vince Young was delivered to Austin by a stork?

For some perspective: the University of Florida Gators have won exactly one national title in football in their history. The much revered super genius Steve Spurrier is hailed as a football deity, but he's done no more than Mack Brown has.

I just don't understand what people want from Mack Brown. He did very well with the Texas players he inherited, he's done damn well with the players he's recruited, and he won a national title with his 2002 #1 recruiting class - many of whom are still on this year's team. I guess I just fail to see how you can have a six year stretch like Mack Brown has had and still have people saying, "Yeah, but..."

There's simply no two sides to this issue, in my mind. He's one of the best coaches in America, and there's no penalty for winning a national title "just because of" your elite talent. That's exactly what's supposed to happen. And it did.

--PB--

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A puzzle of a thousand pieces

So many pieces have be in the right place to win the championship and some of them are beyond the control of the coach.
One factor that is not given much credit is the work of all the other coaches. Mack Brown seems to have put those pieces togather and surrounded himself with a championship caliber coaching staff and last year the lucky breaks combined with the team talent to deliver the championship.
The coaching staff has a lot more to do with the play of specific groups. If the head coach provide the players through recuiting it up to the coaching staff to mold them into a team.

xerxes

by Xerxes on Aug 10, 2006 8:56 AM CDT 0 recs

Tough break UT

It must be terribly frustrating to "slip back" into the enormous indignity that is 10 wins a season. Notre Dame would have to slip back... and back... and back to 2002 to match that mediocrity.

by Red Blooded on Aug 10, 2006 9:08 AM CDT 0 recs

Cant this be applied to every top coach?

I am not going to go look it up, but other than Carrol, who has done better in a six year span than Mac has? I am perfectly happy with 10 win seasons, and a National Championship every six years.
Great coaches get their teams in a position to compete for the NC every year, past that it depends on players and luck.

The Harbinger of Deleted Diaries

by Wells on Aug 10, 2006 9:58 AM CDT 0 recs

I remember when....

ou fans would tell me we were going to fire Mack id we lost to ou again. I'd just laugh. How can you fire a coach who has lost only one or two games a year and wins 10? I remember the dark days of the late 80's till Mack arrived when we only hoped we'd play .500 ball. If you live in the hood of the top 5, you'll get your MNC shot and win a few Mack has taken this program to levels not see in Austin for 35 years (even with Davis' conservative play calling. As Wells said, "Great coaches get their teams in a position to compete for the NC every year, past that it depends on players and luck." Vince did work magic, but that is what you expect from the talent recruited to The University.

Mack is a great face man for the The University. I'd rather have him than Stoops who seems to be cold. Make knows how to be down home with people and has said the right things since being at Texas. While I did not always like when he said something about a team scared him, he was just keeping away from the bulletin board material. Better than when Jonnie Mac said we'd lose to Rice at some time because you cannot beat everyone all of the time. (I wish I would have run him over when I dove the 40 Acers bus route one day, instead I hit the curb. Don't think I'd have been convicted)

The program has been in the best position since the 84' TX/OU game.

by Bevoboy94 on Aug 10, 2006 12:05 PM CDT 0 recs

Please read the nice stuff I said about UT as well

I feel that sometimes I forget that recruiting is just as essential to a college football program as the actual coaching. Mack did a great job putting the pieces together last year and was rewarded so, but I do think he had the help of a refuse-to-lose QB (who he wisely recruited) and a rather weak schedule (not his fault at all - kudos for non-conference with tOSU).

Perhaps its just taking success like that for granted and his "Aw shucks" approach during interviews that makes me doubt him without VY. I'm looking forward to see him work some magic this year, and in no way was I saying that ten wins is a terrible thing; just that it wouldn't result in a repeat championship.

To note on Spurrier: Despite only having the single national title, he added another line to his resume after coaching them up pretty well down in Columbia last season.

Thanks for the link, Pete, and I look forward to the next time we can spar.

by CW on Aug 10, 2006 5:01 PM CDT 0 recs

weak schedule?

compared to ND's? Well ND lost to everyone good on their schedule.

Saying that playing in the Big 12 is easy is a sore spot for me. We made our opponents look weak by thrashing them, but they in turn went and won their bowl games against other conferences. It wasn't an SEC schedule, but it wasn't weak.

Spurrier's SEC team lost to the Big 12's seventh best team last year.

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Aug 10, 2006 5:14 PM CDT up 0 recs

ok

so ND's schedule wasn't weak last year, but all of my other comments still stand.

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Aug 10, 2006 5:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

I wasn't aware I said ND's schedule was awesome...

...but the Big XII was most definitely down a bit last year, compared to earlier in the decade whenago when Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State were all title contenders at various times.

by CW on Aug 10, 2006 10:51 PM CDT 0 recs

Ignore ND's schedule

PB's post was in regards to you saying that you don't believe in Mack Brown.

So then you come back and qualify yourself with this statement:
"Mack did a great job putting the pieces together last year and was rewarded so, but I do think he had the help of a refuse-to-lose QB (who he wisely recruited) and a rather weak schedule (not his fault at all - kudos for non-conference with tOSU)."

So I will grant you the first. W/o VY we couldn't have won the Rose Bowl. To take down a team as good as USC was last year, we needed every piece of our puzzle.

I am contesting the rather weak schedule comment. Granted you didn't say ND's schedule was great, but I assumed as a Domer you thought so. I am arguing that our schedule wasn't any weaker than others. USC had an arguably easier schedule than Texas. Miami and FSU's most recent championships come to mind as having easier title runs. More importantly, we had the best team in the country and only USC could play with us, so it probably wouldn't have mattered if we had played a tougher schedule.

So give Mack Brown his damn due, and quit qualifying it. He won a MNC and produces top 5, 11 win teams like clockwork. What else can you ask for out of a head coach? (besides a new OC?)

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Aug 11, 2006 8:32 AM CDT 0 recs

This is kinda fun

Now everyone's building up 'SC again to show what an accomplishment last year was. I like this trend.

Fight On! Beat the Razorbacks!

by USCLink on Aug 11, 2006 6:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

yeah

pre Rose Bowl I honestly thought USC didn't have a chance, but watching that game made me realize how bad ass USC was, especially Leinart who played a hell of a game.

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Aug 14, 2006 9:27 AM CDT up 0 recs