The heroes of Texas football received prestigious post-season awards this week, with head coach Mack Brown being named the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year, as voted on by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, while Vince Young was voted winner of the Manning Award, honoring the nation's top quarterback.
The award for Vince is nice, but it's Mack Brown who I'm really happy for here. After years of ridicule from outsiders, and plenty of heat from impatient Texas fans, Mack Brown is getting his due. Criticisms of Brown were sometimes justified, but many went way too far, often to the point of caricature. The fact remains that Brown took a program that had slipped from the mountaintop of Darryl Royal days to a frustrating sputtering of inconsistency.
Mack Brown unloaded all the monkeys in one year--Oklahoma, conference title, national title--and is getting the praise he rightly deserves. I'm happy for him and proud he's our coach.
--PB--