AUSTIN, Texas—Texas coach Mack Brown approached the 2009 season by looking back to a single second in 2008.
One play with one second left on the clock on a chilly night out in Lubbock ruined any chance to play for a national championship. Brown has pushed the 2009 Longhorns to use that 39-33 defeat at Texas Tech as motivation to chase Big 12 and national titles.
It has worked so far.
The Longhorns are 12-0, South division champs and preparing to play Nebraska on Saturday night in the Big 12 championship with a likely berth in the BCS title game waiting if they win.
On Tuesday, Brown was named The Associated Press Big 12 coach of the year, selected by a panel of 20 reporters who regularly cover the conference for newspapers in the league’s seven states.
“You don’t have many windows of opportunity,” Brown said. “Last year we had a chance. This year we have our chance with one game left. That just doesn’t come up in kids’ and coaches’ lives all the time. When you get to that point, you need to finish it.”
Brown also won the award in 2005 when he was a unanimous choice. This year, he received nine first place votes. Nebraska’s Bo Pelini and Iowa State’s Paul Rhoads each received four votes. Kansas State’s Bill Snyder got two and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy got one.
Brown has guided a team that many expected would get its chance to play for championships. The Longhorns have been ranked no lower than No. 3 all season.
So Brown had to find an edge to keep the Longhorns focused. That one second—and the bitterness it created—provided all he needed.
The fine line was taking a bad moment from 2008 and making sure his team used it to look forward. Using a negative moment was a departure for a coach who built a career and a powerhouse program on positive motivation.
“We didn’t want them to feel like a 12-1 finish and a win in the Fiesta Bowl was a bad thing,” Brown said. “We also said you didn’t get what you wanted.”
Brown knew that his team leaders—quarterback Colt McCoy, wide receiver Jordan Shipley, defensive tackle Lamarr Houston and others—could handle a constant poke in the ribs about goals that were unmet in 2008.
Even on Sunday, three days after Texas survived a wild 49-39 win over rival Texas A&M, the team meeting again recalled how bad the Longhorns felt last season when they got shut out of the Big 12 title game.
“What we told the team was a year ago to this day, you were as disappointed as any group of kids I’ve ever seen and you committed yourself a year ago to be in this game and win this game,” Brown said. “And now you’ve got it down to this goal.”
Brown started the season also knowing there were questions about just how long he plans to stay on the job. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s contract makes him the head coach-in-waiting should Brown decide to retire. Some Longhorns fans have wondered if Brown will bow out with McCoy and this year’s senior class.
But Brown has said all season that he plans to coach a long time. He has seven years left on his contract and a roster full of blue chip recruits and more on the way.
A victory Saturday would win Brown just his second conference championship in 26 years as a head coach.
“I used to think that was important,” Brown said. “I want it for the kids … What I would like is for Colt and these seniors to have a championship. They deserve it. It’s one thing they don’t have on their resume. These guys have fought their guts out.”
