We’re on the same page. I don’t mean to slight Mack at all. I’m very proud that he’s our coach and of all that he has accomplished. Unfairly or not, he’ll always be compared to Stoops and the lack of conference championships unless he closes the gap over the next few years and/or brings home another MNC. The bad thing is the potential for Stoops to widen the gap is a very real possibility.

Even if you stipulate that Stoops is a better coach than Mack (for the sake of argument), Mack has still been a great coach for UT. BTW, Mack is a much better fit for UT than Stoops would be.

Those of us who are more observant of the program than the casual observer see this transformation as beginning in mid-2004, with somewhat of a side-trip down Lazy Lane in 2006 and 2007, and then a rededication to excellence in 2008.

I’m with the group who thinks that when Mack hired Will Muschamp, he was already planning his exit strategy. It lines up well with DeLoss Dodds’ presumption of retirement, and I think that if Mack wins the MNC this year, Dodds will retire within the year and Mack will step into that role.

Going back to the original question, I think that if Mack doesn’t beat OU this year his plans for transition to the AD’s office are significantly complicated. With Colt as a senior and the obvious dependency of this offense on a talented & experienced QB to make it effective, 2009 will be his last, best chance for a couple of years to win it all, and I don’t think he has the appetite to wait 2-3 more years for another chance.

I believe Mack will make an undefeated run through the schedule his clear and undiminished priority. What we have to see – and what all of us are expecting to see as a vindication of Mack’s legacy – is how he approaches this year. Does he embrace the mission that is before him and his team? Does he have the abilty to motivate this team when the attention on this team is so intense?

If he pulls it off, he comes to a respectable 5-6 against Bobby, he’s got two MNCs (against Bobby’s one), he’s an undefeated 4-0 in BCS games (vs. no better than 3-5 for Bobby), and he’s left the program in great shape to hand off to Muschamp with a great deal of momentum. Most of all, he gets to go out on top while still keeping an ongoing role with the program as AD.

With all due respect, I think you and others are missing the point a little bit. Obviously, Mack already has a shit ton of accomplishments regardless of what the outcomes of the next few seasons are. That said, his track record is marred by the lack of conference titles and many critics argue that VY is the only reason he has 1 conference championship and a MNC. At this point, it’s hard to shut those people up,

It’s fairly easy to shut up anyone with common sense on the whole VY is the only reason garbage. No one ever says Coach XYZ only won a MNC/Super Bowl because he had player such n such. Mack Brown is the only coach I’ve ever heard called out for it. It’s ridiculous. Every coach that’s won it all has great players. The 1 conference championship is hard to defend though.

His harshest critics will lump the lack of conference titles in with his early years (App ST, Tulane, and UNC tenures). Anyone looking at it objectively will give him a pass for the lack of titles during those years b/c Appalachian State and Tulane suck and Florida St was unbelievably bad ass while he was at UNC.

This is where it gets hard to argue. He comes to Texas 1 year prior to Stoops. Both programs are more or less in the same shape when they take over. Both Schools have similiar advantages and both coaches do a great job of restoring order in short time.Then comes the bombshell.

Stoops has 6 Big 12 titles and has played for 4 MNC’s
Mack has 1 Big 12 title and has played for 1 MNC

Anyway you slice it that side by side comparison is not pretty and that’s what he’ll be remembered for if he doesn’t start reeling off Big 12 titles and/or another MNC title.

In short (and as ridiculous as it might sound for someone who has done so much for this program), his legacy right now is good, but falls short of being great.

That’s why one could argue that this years OU game means so much, especially since most are predicting Mack will retire this year or the next. Times running out for him to even things up.

Lastly, the only thing you can really say to Sooner when the point to the conference titles is…
Brown: 3-0 in BCS bowl games
Stoops: 1-5 in BCS bowl games

Stoops has some shit on his legacy too and it’s important to remind them of that, thoughi It’s impossible to win the lack of conference championships arguement with the rest of the college football world. Especially when compared to what Pete Carrol and Urban Meyer at this point.

Mack Brown’s legacy is secure. Can it get better or worse? Sure. But one game is not going to define his UT tenure. Not even a matchup of 13-0 Florida and 13-0 Texas in January.

To other points: record vs. Stoops/BlowU . . . Did Mack ever take a solid favorite, a favorite of any kind, into the RRR and lose? Stoops did 10 months ago . . . Conference titles: Definitely an irritant — but would you trade BCS wins over Michigan and Ohio State for two more Big 12 titles (assuming winning those titles didn’t provide a ticket to the MNC)? . . . Retire within two years? Maybe. But I don’t see any reason to do so, unless the grind gets to him. You could see in Darrell Royal’s face, hear it in his clipped words, that the grind got to him at age 53; at 58, I don’t see that in Mack.

they come out together like HenryJames’s one-time closeted roomates.

If Texas loses this season, neither Texas nor Oklahoma figure to be quite as good next year, primarily due to the rebuilding that will take place at the QB positions. Assuming Mack Brown doesn’t plan on being at Texas very much longer, I think it would be smart, in terms of legacy, to step down after this season if things play out well.