* Mack also didn’t want RGIII, offered Manziel as a DB but not QB, and chose Tyrone Swoopes (who led his 2A team to a 1-10 record) over JT Barrett.
Mack was reactionary in recruiting and game strategy, having to lose hard and see others have sustained success before adopting change. W/L record aside, the best thing he did was reset culture during his first couple years. Had he been replaced with a better X’s and O’s coach in 2003 or 2004, Texas may well have had a better record 2005 and beyond. Given the talent gap between VY and Colt, I’m often more impressed with what Colt did for 4 seasons. Once Colt was finished, so was the Mack Brown regime. But Mack didn’t want to go, so we spun around with years of switching out coordinators and watching OU dominate as we fought for bowl eligibility. When it was clear he was finally being fired, he torched the program on his way out the door. That salting of the earth erased any sense of thanks or good will I might have had for him with the passage of time.