The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Brown steps down as Texas head football coach
12.14.2013 | Football
Brown leaves his post as the 10th-winningest coach in NCAA history
Quotes from Sunday's Press Conference
AUSTIN, Texas - The storied tenure of University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown will end at the conclusion of this season. Brown announced Saturday he will step down from his position following the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30.
One of just two active coaches in the nation to reach the 225-victory plateau, Brown is in his 16th season at UT with a mark of 158-47 (.771). His victory total with the Longhorns is second only to legendary coach Darrell K Royal (167-47-5 record from 1957-76).
Brown, the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year and the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year, elevated the Longhorn program to new heights.
He led Texas to the 2005 BCS National Championship, an appearance in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game and two other BCS bowl wins. The 2005 Paul W. "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year award winner and coach of the 2005 BCS National Champions, Brown steps aside as one of a handful of coaches in college football history to lead two separate programs to a top five national finish (also North Carolina).
"Sally and I were brought to Texas 16 years ago to pull together a football program that was divided," Brown said Saturday. "With a lot of passion, hard work and determination from the kids, coaches and staff, we did that. We built a strong football family, reached great heights and accomplished a lot, and for that, I thank everyone. It's been a wonderful ride. Now, the program is again being pulled in different directions, and I think the time is right for a change."
A member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor, Brown is in his 30th season as a head coach with a record of 244-121-1 (.668). His win total ranks 10th on the NCAA all-time list. He is also one of only two coaches nationally (also Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech) to direct his teams to 21 bowls in the last 22 seasons and the only one to have 23 winning seasons in the last 24 years.
Those streaks are a reflection of the success Brown brought to a program that managed at least 10 wins just three times in the 15 years prior to his arrival in 1998, but has done so nine times in his 16 seasons, including a streak of nine consecutive that is tied for the second-longest in NCAA history.
Brown has also led the Longhorns to six seasons of at least 11 wins. Under Brown, Texas has won nine of its last 11 bowl games and has a 10-4 record overall, including a UT record streak of 12 consecutive bowl appearances. In the 15 years prior to Brown's arrival, Texas went to eight bowls and was 2-6. The 10 bowl wins give Brown the most in Texas history, surpassing Royal's eight.
The Horns have finished the year ranked in the Top 15 in 10 of the last 13 years, which includes a string of 10 straight. They also have seven Top 10 finishes and five Top Five rankings. Prior to Brown's arrival in 1998, the last time Texas had finished the year in the Top 10 was 1983. In addition, Texas leads the nation in all time appearances in the BCS rankings with 104, ahead of both Oklahoma (100) and Florida (92).
"I love The University of Texas, all of its supporters, the great fans and everyone that played and coached here," Brown said. "I can't thank (former athletics director) DeLoss Dodds enough for bringing our family here, and (UT president) Bill Powers and the administration for supporting us at a place where I have made lifelong friendships. It is the best coaching job and the premier football program in America. I sincerely want it to get back to the top and that's why I am stepping down after the bowl game. I hope with some new energy, we can get this thing rolling again."
Brown was hired as the 28th head coach in the storied history of Texas football on Dec. 4, 1997, after a successful 10-year run as the head coach at North Carolina (1988-97).
During his tenure, the Longhorns have featured a Heisman Trophy winner, two runners-up and a third-place finisher, three Maxwell Award winners, three WCFF Player of the Year Award winners, two Doak Walker Award winners, two Thorpe Award winners, two Nagurski Trophy winners, two O'Brien Award winners, two Hendricks Award winners, a Butkus Award winner, a Lombardi Award winner, two Manning Award winners, two Draddy/Campbell Trophy winners, a Wuerffel Trophy winner, a Disney Spirit Award winner, a FWAA Armed Forces Merit Award winner, 54 All-Americans, 73 first-team All-Big 12 selections, five Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year, six Big 12 Defensive Players of the Year and 12 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honorees.
During that time, UT has established one of the nation's premier offensive attacks, while rejuvenating a once struggling Longhorns' defense into one of the nation's best.
On offense, the Longhorns have set 138 school records and featured the school's only 3,000-yard passers (Colt McCoy, 2007, 08, 09/Vince Young, 2005/Chris Simms, 2002/Major Applewhite, 1999), 2,000-yard rusher (Ricky Williams, 1998), 1,000-yard receivers (Quan Cosby, 2008/Jordan Shipley, 2008, 09/Roy Williams, 2002, 03/Kwame Cavil, 1999/Wane McGarity, 1998) and 1,000-yard passer/rusher (Vince Young, 2004 and 05) in a season.
Defensively, Texas has led the Big 12 in scoring defense three times, in total defense seven times and four of the last six years, and rushing defense seven times and five of the last eight seasons.
With all of the success on the field, the primary emphasis has remained the same with Brown's squads — maintaining a high level of achievement in the classroom and in the community. Eighty percent of his players at North Carolina received their degrees and he has increased the pace at Texas, while more than a third of his players at Texas have regularly earned 3.0 grade point averages and achieved spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's and Athletics Director's honor rolls.
Over the last eight years, the success in the classroom has reached an all-time high. The Longhorns have led the Big 12 in academic all-conference selections in five of the last eight seasons, and in three of those have had equal or more first-team selections than all but two Big 12 schools have had total selections.
Born in Cookeville, Tenn., Brown was a three-sport star at Putnam County High School, where he lettered three times in football. He went on to attend Vanderbilt (1969-70) and graduated from Florida State. He lettered twice as a running back for the Seminoles (1972-73). An injury sidelined him for much of the 1973 season and that led to the start of his coaching career as he became a student coach. He completed his bachelor's degree in education in 1974.
Brown, who is in his 41st year as a collegiate coach, began his full-time coaching career in 1975 at Southern Mississippi, where he worked with the receivers for three seasons. He served as an assistant coach at Memphis State (wide receivers, 1978), Iowa State (wide receivers, 1979; offensive coordinator, 1980-81) and LSU (offensive coordinator, 1982) before earning his first head-coaching job at Appalachian State in 1983. At the age of 32, he directed the Mountaineers to their first winning record in four years with a 6-5 slate.
He left Appalachian State to become offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. In his only year on Barry Switzer's staff, the Sooners were 9-2-1, won the Big Eight title and earned a berth in the Orange Bowl.
Brown became head coach at Tulane in 1985 and quickly went about rejuvenating the Green Wave's sagging football fortunes. Tulane had suffered three consecutive losing seasons before Brown's arrival, but by his third season in 1987, he led the Green Wave to a 6-5 mark and a berth in the Independence Bowl (just the program's fifth bowl game since 1940). He also served as athletics director his final two years at Tulane.
In 1988, Brown took over a North Carolina program that had suffered two losing seasons in its previous three years and three non-winning seasons in its previous four years. While rebuilding the foundation, Brown's Tar Heels squads posted back-to-back 1-10 seasons in 1988 and '89. In 1990, Carolina was 6-4-1 and the Tar Heels were beginning a run of eight consecutive winning seasons and six straight bowl game appearances. UNC's 54-18 (.750) record during his last six years ranked as the ninth-best nationally during that period. His final two seasons were the most impressive. He compiled a 20-3 (.870) mark and led the Heels to a No. 4 final ranking in the USA Today/ESPN poll and No. 6 ranking by The AP in 1997.
One of the most respected coaches in the college game, Brown has served on numerous national committees, including currently serving as president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), which he was named in January 2013. Brown also has served on the AFCA Ethics Committee and the AFCA Public Relations Committee. He has been a member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and the NCAA Football Issues Committee. He has been chairman of the Football Coaches' Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the College Football Association. He has been invited to coach in five postseason all-star games, including the Japan Bowl, Hula Bowl (twice) and East-West Shrine Game (twice).
Statements on Mack Brown
Steve Patterson, Texas Men's Athletics Director:
"We appreciate everything Mack has done for The University of Texas. He's been a tremendous coach, mentor, leader and ambassador for our university and our student-athletes. He is truly a college football legend. I've had a number of talks with him recently, and he has always said he wanted what was best for The University of Texas. I know this decision weighed heavily on him, and today he told us he's ready to move forward."
William Powers Jr., University of Texas at Austin President:
"This is a very difficult day for everyone in The University of Texas family. Mack Brown is one of the best football coaches in the country, a tremendous representative of our University, and, most importantly, a great friend. He has produced championship teams with tremendous student-athletes and has always done so with the utmost class and integrity. Mack is just the best and he will be missed. With that said, I'm excited for the future and the opportunity to work with him in a new capacity for the years to come and am thrilled that he and Sally will remain part of our family. He is an unbelievable resource for us and will always be a valuable member of the Longhorn community."
