EXCLUSIVE: Mack Brown on football, family and his future ahead of Football Hall of Fame Induction
UT kicks off its spring practice April 21. On top of getting a look at the current team and coaching staff you'll likely see a familiar face - former Coach Mack Brown. He still plays a very active roll at the University and this weekend the school plans to honor him in a big way.
For all the great honors and accolades that fill this Longhorn legend's home office, one of the most memorable has yet to arrive.
In fall 2018, Mack Brown will become only the third Longhorn coach to be inducted into the college football hall of fame.
“I feel humbled that it's about so many different people. That's why I want to make sure those players understand they are putting me in to honor you,” Brown said.
Brown is still finding places to put everything he's collected from his 30-year coaching career in the Austin home his wife recently renovated and decorated. Brown invited KVUE into his home to talk football, family and his future -- ahead of what is sure to be a memorable year.
Coach Brown's 244 wins are the tenth most in NCAA history. He lead the Longhorns to two national championship appearances and a national title in 2005.
Influence of Coach Darrell Royal
Brown showed KVUE some of the hardware that fills the walls of his home office.
“I'm very proud of all four national championships with Coach Royal there, so I keep all that together,” he said.
The former UT football coach credits his friend and mentor the late Coach Darrell Royal with much of his success.
“(Royal) was a huge influence because of what he meant before I got here,” said Brown. “The fact that I pretty much had an older brother. He loved me. So he was going to be hard on me and tell me exactly what he thought. So, when I asked him a question I got an answer and that really helped.”
Life after UT
Stepping down after 16 years as the head football coach at the University of Texas at Austin hasn't been easy.
However, Mack and Sally Brown fill their time with family and a different take on football.
"She’s in the grandkid business. We have 7 of them. Nana takes pretty good care of them. Things are good. She’s Nana and I’m Pops," Mack said. "We want to be good grandparents, so we’re enjoying that part of it.... and I'm blessed that ESPN and ABC asked me to join them immediately and it's been fun. It's been a great transition for us.”
Joys of Coaching
KVUE asked Mack if he missed being a coach.
"Sure you do. You can’t get the comeback. You can’t get the great win on the road. You’re not in charge of your schedule anymore. You’re not the boss. Somebody else is telling you where to go and when to go. You have a family with TV, but it’s not the same as 130 kids and their families and their high school coaches and their staff," Mack said.
Sally elaborated on the impact of the relationship the players have on her and her husband.
"The relationship with the players is really special because you meet them when they are 16, 17 years old and you watch them in the most interesting formative years of their lives," said Sally. "You become really close to them. I worried when we were done at Texas, that we wouldn’t have those relationships with them, but it turns out I do. They don’t really go away and I love that. It is one of the reasons I love staying in Austin is because we're still around all the guys."
Money and college athletics
College athletics has changed a lot over the years.
"It’s changed with social media. It’s changed with web sites. They are constantly scrutinizing. You’ve got six or seven all over the place trying to find something so you do have to answer those questions," said Mack. "It’s changed because of money. I was one of the ones that was the first to be paid a lot. I paid some assistants a lot, so now I think the money is probably out of control. There’s a lot more talk now from players that we need more, and I agree. I think they do. I think the parents need more and the players need more because we’re making so much money. So, I think Terri, more than anything else, it’s become like a mini-NFL model. There’s so much money to be made. We made $165 million dollars one year and I think this year they made over $200 million. So, we have to be careful that it’s not going to continue to be amateur sports if it becomes this much about money."
When asked if he had any regrets, Brown said, “I think if we had to do it over again, we tried our best every day. So I don't think we could have done anything better than our best. That's what we gave and we gave everything for 16 years.”
Mack has had a few offers since leaving UT and so KVUE asked if he would ever go back into coaching.
“I talked to Dick Vermeil when I first quit and he waited 17 years before he went back. I've interviewed a couple of places. Sally and I have talked about it. I won't go back unless it's somewhere that they really need us, it's somewhere we want to live,” Mack said.
Home in Austin
For now, home is Austin.
Mack even teaches a few courses at UT, and helps in the athletic department. Mack and his wife Sally are also involved in a number of charities, helping raise millions for children's charities with their annual Mack, Jack and McConaughey event.
The MJ&J event allows them to mix their love of football with their love of music.
Mack showed KVUE his collection of guitars that sit beside all his football memorabilia.
“This is Jack Ingram. This one's George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson,” Mack said as he showed his display of signed guitars. “And then I've got one over here that I play around with.”
“We're surrounded by such great people, great friends and we never take that for granted,” said Sally Brown.
“Austin's a wonderful place, but the people are more important than the place,” said Mack Brown.