First let me say that my heart goes out to Texas DT Brandon Moore who was injured in the third quarter of today’s game. He has movement in all of his limbs and is in stable condition at a local hospital. This post or better yet rant is clearly irrelevant in the grand scheme of life given the fact that it’s only football games I am talking about.
I started calling for Mack Brown’s resignation after last weekend’s 48-45 home loss to West Virginia, a move that had most of my Texas brethren calling me ungrateful. On Thursday, I wrote that today’s game against Oklahoma would be a referendum on the tenure of Mack Brown. And after today’s 63-21 shellacking, no Longhorn fan can deny that the time has come for the Texas Longhorns to part ways with Mack Brown.
Since 1998, the Longhorns are 145-41 under Mack Brown. With a win percentage of 78% (give or take a couple decimal places), Mack Brown’s tenure at Texas has been one of the most successful in Longhorn history. But like the old adage says … All good things must come to an end.
Since 2002, the Texas Longhorns have had recruiting classes ranked higher than the Oklahoma Sooners 7 out of 11 times (see following chart).
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Final Recruiting Rankings Based on Rivals.com
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Texas Longhorns
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Oklahoma Sooners
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2012
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2
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11
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2011
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3
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14
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2010
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3
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7
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2009
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5
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13
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2008
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14
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6
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2007
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5
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14
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2006
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5
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9
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2005
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20
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3
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2004
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18
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11
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2003
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15
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4
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2002
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1
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7
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But during this same time period, the Longhorn’s record against their arch rival has been downright abysmal. Since ‘02 (including today’s game), the Longhorns are 4-7 with blowout losses of 65-13 (2003), 55-17 (2011) and 63-15 (2012). To make matters worse, there was also a blowout in 2000, 63-14.
After today’s game the ‘Horns are now 6-9 overall against the Sooners during Mack Brown’s tenure began in 1998. Like I said in Thursday’s post, this is simply not good enough given how much money Brown is currently being paid by the Texas athletic department and how much next-level talent there is in the program.
My issue with the Longhorns during Brown’s tenure isn’t talent level. Since Mack Brown has been at Texas, 52 players have been drafted into the NFL and 20 have been first round picks. Since Bob Stoops has been at Oklahoma, 53 players have been drafted into the NFL and 12 have been first round picks.
But given the fact that the ‘Horns out-recruit the Sooners (at least based on class rankings) their record against their biggest rival is downright appalling, and the number of blowout losses is unsettling. From and X’s and O’s and motivational standpoint, when it comes to Oklahoma vs. Texas, Bob Stoops is simply better at getting his boys ready to play. His 9-5 record against Texas post today’s game only serve to further proof this fact. 
Football can be a very cruel sport to head coaches. When their teams win, they get a fair bit of credit. But when their teams lose, they get all the blame. Fans like me start criticizing their tactics and schemes and start (at times irrationally) calling for their heads. An argument can be made that this isn’t right, but regardless this is the way it is especially given the amount of money coaches are making in college football. Something is no longer working anymore and that something is William Mack Brown. From a purely win-loss perspective the Texas Longhorns can no longer afford to have Mack Brown as their lead head coach.
After today’s dreadful performance, the Longhorns are now 17-14 since their 2009 BCS National Championship appearance. What was once considered the strength of the program, this year’s defense is average at best and the offense is … well … they scored 21 points and gained a total of 289 yards in four quarters of football so enough said. The game was so bad today that ABC stopped showing coverage in my area with 9:00 minutes left in the 4thquarter (probably better for my overall mental health).
The “blame” shouldn’t fall solely on Mack Brown’s shoulders especially since he’s not out there actually playing. But ultimately as the head coach, he is supposed to push the right buttons to get his players to play at their best level. Because he has been unable to do this recently (over the last three years) as the “CEO” of the Texas Longhorns, it’s time for him to step aside and open the door for someone new.
2005 was such a long time ago ….
