And it only took four straight losses to OU to do it
Picture it: Austin, Texas. Summer 1999. Despite the departure of Ricky Williams for the NFL, the Horns still have a team so talented, they earn the title of the top recruiting class of 1999. This is a pivotal year for the Horns.
And fittingly, with so much talent to choose from, Mack Brown faces his first difficult choice in the second year of tenure as Longhorns' head coach: which quarterback will lead this talented team? Would it be the outstanding Major Applewhite, who, as a redshirt freshman, in spite of his small size and average physical talent, led the Longhorns to a 9-3 season and a victory in the Cotton Bowl, and was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year? Or would it be Chris Simms, son of the great NFL quarterback Phil Simms, rated by many as the most promising high school recruit in the country, coming in fresh to UT, having great physical size and a gun for an arm?
Well, we know how that ended. Mack chose both quarterbacks, alternating them as starters throughout the season. The much-touted Horns of '99 dropped five games -- two to teams in the top 10, and one to rival Texas Tech.
Now picture this: Dallas, Texas, October 11, 2003. Chris Simms, the redshirted senior leads his team to a sixth-straight victory over OU. This team is the best the Longhorns have had in years -- some say decades. Applewhite's decisive victories over the Sooners in '99, and again in 2000 had a lot to do with that (routing your opponents in nationally televised games has a major influence on a team's recruiting power). And Simms, having sat on the sidelines as a true freshman, and working as a backup under Applewhite his first playing year, honed his mental ability and gave him the confidence needed to lead the Horns to two straight national championships in 2001 and 2002.
Am I tripping? Does that sound too far-fetched? Well for all the hype that the Longhorns have had for the past five or six straight years, there certainly hasn't been much performance to match up to the expectations.
No one argues that the Horns have had talent. It all comes back to what exactly has been made of it. Longhorn fans have to deal with the "what-ifs" because we know that we are still dealing with the ramifications of the single-biggest coaching screw-up in the program's history. The Great Quarterback Controversy of 1999 isn't over.
If Brown had redshirted Simms, he wouldn't have had to decide this year between the inflexible but efficient Mock and the versatile but inexperienced Young. He'd arguably have a better team all-round, too, had he made more of his '99 team.
You might make the case that it was that 1999 season (and the sub-par 2000 one that followed) that marked a shift in recruiting power from the Horns to the Sooners. How hard a decision would it be for a top high school recruit? Play for the Horns, who are often supposed to win the national championship, or play for the Sooners, who have actually won one in the last four years? Yes, the Sooners have lost some heartbreakers in the last two years, keeping them out of the running for a national title. But the Horns haven't even been able to win a Big XII champtionship under Mack Brown. They have the dubious distinction of not being able to win much of any of the big games.
Longhorn fans have been chided in the national sports media for expecting too much out of their coach. Yes, we do have high standards in Texas, and that's not something that should change. We expect the best out of people -- even our football players -- and we hate to see wasted potential. But criticizing the fans only begs the question of whether Mack Brown deserves the blame for the failure of his teams to live up to the potential that everyone knows they have.
After losing so often to the top teams in the country, he never seems to have a legitimate answer as to why Horns have underperformed. And he never has a shortage of praise for his opponents, before and after the game. It's like he's been deliberately avoiding what we all have known for years: Brown himself is the problem.
From decisions like the Quarterback Controversy to the general lack of toughness and desire (and the superfluence of diplomacy -- he had more nice things to say about Oklahoma than he did about his own team in the week before this Saturday) coming from the top down, yes, the blame for the Longhorns perennial underachievement lays squarely on the desk of one Mack Brown.
And finally, finally, FINALLY, after Saturday's 65-13 loss to the Sooners -- the fourth in a row -- he seems to be acknoledging that possibility:
"I have to go back and look at me," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "The team can't play this badly with me doing my job."
Translation: no more excuses.
The first step in conquering a problem is admitting it exists in the first place, and taking responsibility for it. The new Longhorns' season starts now, so Brown says. This humiliating defeat might have been the tonic that Brown needed to recognize the root of what has been ailing this team for half a decade.
Is this a new chapter for the Horns? If so, will this mean Mack Brown will change his approach to coaching? Will he hit the books? Get some high-level advice from Royal or another champion coach? Will Mack change the attitude of this team? Will he change its character? Will he do anything that will translate to more W's on the board and maybe, just possibly, a Big 12 championship?
We Horns fans sure hope so. We're tired of being let down season after season. But this much is true: The Longhorns' problems have never been as simple as not getting enough yards on the ground or not capitalizing on their opponents' turnovers, or whatever the failure of the week happened to be. The problem has been attitudinal. Hearing Brown take responsibility is heartening. It shows that he's facing the uncomfortable prospect of self-examination -- something a good leader needs to do, always, and encourage his team to do as well, in every aspect of their game.
Posted by Matt at October 13, 2003 2:15 AM
