The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Lifetime Longhorns Malcom Brown, Kyle Shanahan return to Texas for Super Bowl LI
02.05.2017 | Football
Former Texas lettermen square off in quest for the Lombardi Trophy.
HOUSTON, Texas – Sunday's championship matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots marks a homecoming of sorts for two former Texas lettermen who have been pegged as rising stars in the NFL.
Malcom Brown, a second-year defensive lineman for the Patriots, and Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, return to the Lone Star State to face off in Super Bowl LI. Their participation in the annual contest for football's most coveted trophy marks the 12th straight year that a Longhorn will compete for a Super Bowl ring, a school record.
Both Longhorns notched successful seasons leading up to the Super Bowl. Brown is finishing up a sophomore campaign in which he recorded 13 starts, 50 tackles (24 solo) and three sacks. Shanahan, who joined Atlanta in 2015 after the Falcons went 6-10 the year prior, spent this season calling plays for an offense that led the league in scoring with 540 total points. Throughout the last month, he has been in discussions with the San Francisco 49ers to become their next head coach. His attention for the time being, however, remains with the Falcons and Sunday night's Super Bowl.
Brown will step on the field at Houston's NRG stadium just 74 miles from his hometown of Brenham, Texas. He's taken the opportunity to provide as many family members as possible with seats to the show. For the first time in his NFL career, he will get to play live in front of his mother.
"It's special because family that hasn't really gotten to see me play up there in Massachusetts, they can come out and see me play," Brown said. "It's really good for everybody. They're proud of me. It's a great family."
Brown's breakout junior season for the Longhorns, in which he recorded 72 tackles and 6.5 sacks, earned him All-America honors, a first team All-Big 12 selection and a spot among the finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (awarded to the nation's best defensive player). He elected to declare early for the NFL draft, and on April 30, 2015, the Patriots selected Brown in the first round with the 32nd pick.
While he's getting a taste of football's biggest spotlight early in his career, Brown is no stranger to being ahead of his class. He was the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle coming out of high school. By the time he declared for the NFL draft at just 21 years old, he was already married to his wife, Faith, and had two children, Rayna and Mayah. Following the draft, the Boston Globe reported that his maturity and character "clinched the decision" for the Patriots.
Brown credits his time at Texas with creating good work habits and preparing him for the pressure at the next level.
"We always had big games, a lot of fans and the crowd noise," Brown said. "Just preparing to be in the spotlight every week."
True to his reputation as a quiet, older soul, Brown said he isn't getting caught up in the circus surrounding Super Bowl week.
"I just prepare the same for any game," Brown said. "The hype and all the other stuff, that doesn't get to me because I just focus on what I have to do. A lot of stuff could be said during the week of the big game, but I just stay out of it and focus on what I have to do."
On the other side of the ball, Shanahan has garnered a reputation as a leading offensive mind for the talent-laden Falcons. The son of former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, Kyle began his collegiate career at Duke University before realizing he wanted to attend a school where football, not basketball, dominated. Then-Texas head coach Mack Brown had recruited Shanahan when he was at North Carolina, so Shanahan called Brown to see if there was any way he could get into Texas. When Brown said yes, Shanahan packed up his car and headed to Austin.
"I had never been in the state of Texas at the time," Shanahan said. "I was a little nervous about it since I'd never been there before and knew nothing about it other than that football was important. When I got there, I realized it was nothing to be nervous about. Austin is a great city, fun as could be and I had some of the favorite times of my life there."
Shanahan played wide receiver during his two years of eligibility in 2001 and 2002, joining a roster that featured Chris Simms, Cedric Benson and Roy Williams.
Now the offensive coordinator for a Super Bowl contender, Shanahan said he still keeps up with his friends from Texas – even though he probably won't have time to answer all their text messages until after the season is finished.
"I've got a bunch of good friends from Texas, a bunch of guys I've been to school with," Shanahan said. "They've all been reaching out."
Shanahan's time at Texas exposed him to the big-game atmosphere and the expectations that followed him to the NFL.
"I think just being in a big-time football program where winning the national championship was everything," Shanahan said. "We didn't get to do that while I was there, but they ended up doing it and just being a part of something where they had such good players. Being able to be around guys like Roy Williams and Chris Simms and Cedric Benson, people like that, it prepares you a little bit for the NFL."
Shanahan's roots in Texas extend beyond his time at the University. Originally from Englewood, Colorado, he joined the Houston Texans in 2006 as a wide receivers coach after spending time as a graduate assistant for UCLA and a quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As he drove by Rice University this past week, he spotted the house where he and his wife, Mandy, lived with their two kids (the Shanahans have since had a third child).
"I've got a lot of great memories here in Houston," Shanahan said.
Some of those fond memories might stem from the fact that Houston is also where Shanahan landed his first coordinator job, in 2008. The Texans' offense ranked third in the NFL during his first season as play-caller, gaining a then franchise-record 6,113 yards and passing for a then franchise-record 4,267 yards.
Shanahan spent another season as the offensive coordinator for the Texans before joining his father, then-Washington head coach Mike Shanahan, as the Redskins' offensive coordinator. He spent four seasons in Washington and later joined the Cleveland Browns for their 2014 campaign. The next season, he was in Atlanta.
On the cusp of possibly landing his first head coaching job with the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan said he's spent the majority of his life preparing for the opportunity.
"It's something that I've thought about almost every day," Shanahan said. "If it does happen, it's something I'll definitely take advantage of."
Before any of that, however, Shanahan has his hands full against the NFL's No. 1 defensive scoring team in the Patriots. If Shanahan walks away with the victory on Sunday, he will be the second in his family to hoist Super Bowl hardware. His father won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999.
"I've been to the Super Bowl six times as a coach's kid and I remember all of them," Shanahan said. "Some of the best memories of my life are growing up and just being a family member and just watching what your dad does and all the people with him go to the Super Bowls. Now to get here myself and be able to bring my own family, that's the stuff that's pretty cool."