Despite falling from the elite the past few years, even while maintaining stellar recruiting, the University of Texas gave Head Coach Mack Brown an extension yesterday. The Longhorns’ struggles the last two seasons, a 13-12 record including a 6-11 record in the Big 12, are well documented. These recent struggles led some, many in fact, to believe that Mack Brown’s days in Austin were numbered. Well, those people (myself included) were wrong.
Yesterday the Board of Regents agreed to give Brown a four-year extension on his current contract, ensuring he will be leading the Longhorns through 2020. Brown’s current salary is $5.2MM a year, not too shabby. The extension won’t give Brown a direct raise, but it will continue to give him annual raises of $100,000 per the stipulations of his current deal.
Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds has repeatedly said that Mack Brown can and should coach the team as long as he wants. Brown has been in Austin for 14 years. In that time he’s compiled a record of 141-39. Additionally, he’s added a couple of Big 12 championships and a National Championship. Furthermore, he’s proven to be unparalleled in his in-state recruiting. This last point, while extremely important, actually hurts Brown though. Let me explain.
The last three years, Brown’s recruiting classes have ranked #5, #3, and #3 respectively (according to Rivals.com). Three top 5 classes in a row should lead to better than a 13-11 record the last two years. I know there is not a direct correlation to recruiting rankings and on-field success. But Brown, who is 60-years-old, has not been able to orchestrate much success from his recent recruits. Does this mean he should have been showed the door? Perhaps. That’s not my call. I just question the judgement in giving him, with his lack of recent success, such a lengthy extension. The downturn in productivity, along with Brown’s advancing age, seem to make this extension quite foolish. Then again, I’m not Nostradomus. Perhaps Brown will figure out how to inspire those kids again.
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