Texas Longhorns football under Mack Brown William Mack Brown ( born August 27 , 1951 ) is head coach of the University of Texas Longhorn football team . Through 2008 the Texas Longhorns football team under Mack Brown have had a winning season for all eleven seasons since Brown took over the program for the 1998 season . As of 2008 , they have won at least ten games in each of the past eight seasons ; that is the longest active streak in the nation . Brown ' s Longhorns won the 2005 National Championship and seven of their ten bowl games . In 2006 he was awarded the Paul " Bear " Bryant Award for " Coach of the Year " . Prior to coaching at Texas , Brown coached at Appalachian State , Tulane , and North Carolina . Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs . Brown ' s move to Texas . While Brown informed his North Carolina team and the media that he had no plans to leave North Carolina for the recently - vacated job at the University of Texas , he was soon identified ( over the objections of Longhorn Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds ) by the Texas search committee as one of only two men they were interested in hiring . At the time , the Tar Heels had just completed their most successful season in years . The 1997 Tar Heels notched a 10 – 1 record — only the third 10 - win regular season in school history . They were slated to appear in the Gator Bowl for the second year in a row — only their second ( or third ) New Year ' s Day bowl game since the Justice era . They were also all but assured of their highest final ranking in the AP Poll in half a century . On December 2 , 1997 , Brown was contacted while at the ACC ' s football banquet in Atlanta . He agreed to meet with the hiring committee , which included Dodds , Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal , several former Texas players , and several important boosters , most notably Tom Hicks ( owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers ) , who donated time , energy and the use of his private jet corps to the coaching search that also included an exploratory meeting with Northwestern ' s Gary Barnett in Chicago . Brown met the committee on December 3 in the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta . The committee was impressed with Brown and Dodds offered him the job on the spot . The offer included a sizable pay raise to about $ 750 , 000 a year ( which could climb to as high as $ 1 million with incentives ) , and a similar amount to recruit assistant coaches . Brown tentatively accepted , but wanted to speak with North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour and the North Carolina football team before making an official decision . The following day Brown met with Baddour , who had been told by the Chancellor to offer Brown a ten - year contract , as Brown relates in his autobiography : Brown called Deloss Dodds to officially accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas on December 4 , 1997 at 2 : 30 PM , then informed Dick Baddour of his decision fifteen minutes later . At 3 : 00 PM , Brown held a meeting with the Tar Heel players to inform them of his decision . That Thursday night , Brown flew to Austin . He was introduced to an enthusiastic Longhorn crowd on Friday . As a consequence of taking the Texas post , Brown was not on the sidelines during the Tar Heel ' s 42 – 3 rout of Virginia Tech in the 1998 Gator Bowl , having been replaced as head coach by defensive coordinator Carl Torbush . North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush . Early seasons . In his early years at UT , Mack Brown was sometimes referred to as " Coach February " , a nickname that indicated he performed well during the important recruiting season , but failed to follow up with equally impressive wins on the field . His detractors felt that with all the resources at his disposal at Texas , combined with the talent he was recruiting from high school programs , that he should have more to show for it than appearances in the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl Classic . They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championship s instead . In five of the first eight seasons under Brown , the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma . Since the two teams played in the same division of the Big 12 , a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas could win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma lost at least two conference games . Brown did however lead the University of Texas to its second Big 12 Conference Championship game only to lose to a higher ranked Nebraska team which they had beaten earlier in the year . He also took the Longhorns to the 2001 Big 12 title game . In that year ' s campaign , the Longhorns lost to the Sooners but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska and Oklahoma State . Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game , losing to Colorado , a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year . Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado . A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002 . After Oklahoma beat Texas , they lost to Texas A & M and Oklahoma State . However , Texas had suffered a loss to Texas Tech so they did not make the championship game . In 2003 , Texas finished the regular season with a 10 - 2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown . However , when South Champion ( and # 1 ranked ) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game , Kansas State received the Big 12 conference ' s automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS . The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go . Texas was frozen out . Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season , his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series game , having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl Classic . His record in these games was 3 and 3 , with two of the 3 losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games . 2004 season . In 2004 , the Longhorns began the season with a # 7 ranking nationally and started out with a 65 - 0 blowout of North Texas , setting several UT school records in the process . This was followed by a narrow 22 - 20 win against unranked Arkansas . They defeated Rice and Baylor 35 - 13 and 44 - 14 respectively . This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then # 2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout . Oklahoma shut - out the Longhorns 12 - 0 . Texas dropped to # 9 , before rebounding with wins over # 24 Missouri 28 - 20 , at # 24 Texas Tech 51 - 21 , and at Colorado 31 - 7 . Then Texas set a record for the largest come from - behind - win in school history , beating # 19 Oklahoma State 56 - 35 after falling behind 7 - 35 . After this performance , Texas again fell behind against Kansas but squeaked out a win 27 - 23 . Kansas head coach Mark Mangino stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas . The series of victories brought Texas back up to # 5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch - rival Texas A & M to Austin and won 26 - 13 . However , Oklahoma stood undefeated , which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division . Once again , the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title , and had seemingly destined them to non - Bowl Championship Series bowl as well . However , Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters ( one on college football coaches , the other on Associated Press writers ) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) bowl - bid . The arcane rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the 8 chosen teams even though they ranked 5th nationally . Lobbying by Brown and his brother , et al . , gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl , one of the four BCS bowls . This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl . The appearance in the " Grand - daddy " of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns , due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac - 10 against the winner of the Big Ten . Texas ' opponent was Michigan , whom Texas was playing for the very first time . Texas won the game 38 - 37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time . Ironically , Brown followed up a strong 2004 season on the field with a less successful 2005 recruiting season . Brown , who long had been criticized for recruiting top talent but not achieving the highest possible results , began to receive criticism for missing out on top recruits , especially for missing out on quarterback Ryan Perrilloux , who ended up not following through on his verbal commitment to sign with Texas . Despite the success of the 2004 season , Coach Brown ' s resume was still lacking a conference championship , let alone a national championship . The 2005 season offered an opportunity to add those credentials . 2005 season . Save for redshirt Junior Quarterback Vince Young , many of Texas ' key players from the previous season , including running back Cedric Benson , linebacker Derrick Johnson and tight end Bo Scaife , did not return for the 2005 season . However , Texas was given a pre - season # 2 ranking ( behind defending National Champions University of Southern California ) by " Sports Illustrated " magazine , and was also ranked second in the AP and " USA Today " coaches pre - season polls . Texas scored a decisive 45 - 12 victory over Oklahoma . That marked the 6th time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked 2nd nationally , and they have won all six times . With the win , Texas started the season 5 - 0 for the first time since 1983 . That was the last time UT had national title hopes , ending the regular season 11 - 0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic . After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech , Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) standings for the first time since the BCS creation . The BCS formula , which takes into account strength of schedule , allowed Texas to advance in the rankings since they defeated a previously unbeaten team , while University of Southern California beat Washington , a 1 - 6 team . Texas ' place at the top of the BCS rankings lasted only one week . On October 29 , Texas beat an Oklahoma State University Cowboys team that had struggled so far that season . Despite OSU ' s 0 - 5 start to conference play , Texas found themselves behind early in the game and for the third straight year , Texas found themselves trailing a lower - ranked Oklahoma State team at half - time . For the third straight year , Texas came from behind to win by a sizable margin . Vince Young set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 267 , and accounted for 506 total yards of offense to lead the team to victory . Over the past 3 meetings between the two schools , the Longhorns outscored the Cowboys by a combined second - half score of 118 to 0 . Texas retained the top spot in the computer rankings , but not by enough to stay ahead of USC overall . After both teams won all their remaining games , USC and Texas were ranked 1 and 2 , respectively ; Texas then defeated USC 41 - 38 in the Rose Bowl , winning the National Championship . On January 11 , 2006 , Brown was named the Paul " Bear " Bryant College Football Coach of the Year . Not since Darrell Royal ' s victory in 1963 has a coach from The University of Texas at Austin been given this honor . Voted by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association , this award not only affirms the talent , skills and vision of Coach Mack Brown but strengthens the athletic and academic record achieved during his UT tenure . Eighteen players on the 2006 Rose Bowl roster entered the game with the coursework for their college degree complete . 2006 season . As the defending national champions , Texas began the season ranked # 2 in the polls , but having to replace the NFL - departed quarterback Vince Young with freshman Colt McCoy . After winning their opener , the Longhorns in game two lost convincingly to # 1 ranked Ohio State in Austin . The Horns rebounded to win seven straight ( including a second straight win over nemesis Oklahoma ) to climb into the Big 12 South driver ' s seat and entertain thoughts of a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship . However , in the season ' s 10th game , McCoy was injured and Texas was shocked on the road by Kansas State . After the loss , the Horns returned home still needing just one win to clinch the Big 12 South . However , even though McCoy returned Texas was again shocked , losing 12 - 7 to intrastate rival Texas A & M . The loss snapped UT ' s 6 game winning streak over the Aggies . Settling for the Alamo Bowl , Texas defeated a 6 – 6 Iowa team in a close game . 2007 season . As Mack Brown entered his 10th season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns he had a won / loss record of 93 22 and he had the best winning percentage ( . 809 ) of any coach in Longhorn history . The 2007 Texas Longhorn football team began play on September 1 , 2007 . Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all - time list of both total wins and winning percentage . They are ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre - season polls . For instance , a pre - season ranking by ESPN writer Mark Schlabach has the Longhorns ranked eighth ; Rivals . com has them at ninth . College Football News and Real Football 365 both have the Longhorns ranked third . The Longhorns come into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches Poll and AP Poll . Prior to the season , two Longhorns were arrested for driving while intoxicated and will serve three - game suspensions ; two other players were arrested on armed robbery charges and were removed from the team . Brown said “ I am extremely disappointed that four of our student - athletes have had issues with the law this summer . That is not reflective of the high standard of class , character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years . It ’ s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention , because I do think that overall , this is as good of a group of kids that I ’ ve ever coached . I think that will show over time . ” For the second straight year , UT merchandise were the top - selling products among clients of Collegiate Licensing Company . UT is using part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise . The University of Texas Board of Regents voted unanimously to raise Brown ' s salary by $ 300 , 000 . This brings his annual compensation to $ 2 . 81 million and keeps him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport . The package also includes up to $ 3 million dollars in bonuses , including " $ 100 , 000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $ 450 , 000 if he wins this year ' s national championship , as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate . " Brown ' s contract is good through the 2016 season and includes buy - out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown . Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected . Following that , Texas was upset by the Kansas State Wildcats 41 – 21 . Kansas State had no turnovers and scored 21 points on defense and special teams . They scored one touchdown on a punt return , one on a kick return , and one on an interception . Previously , Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season . The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66 – 3 loss in 1997 , and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas . Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout , 28 – 21 . With that loss , Texas opened conference play 0 – 2 for the first time since 1956 , when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal became head coach of the Longhorns . In their ninth regular season game , Texas outscored Nebraska 28 - 25 , marking Brown ' s 100th win at Texas . In their next two games , the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State and Texas Tech , but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A & M , the Longhorns lost 30 – 38 . This marked the Longhorns ' second straight loss to the Aggies . Despite the loss , Texas went to the Holiday Bowl to defeat 11th - ranked Arizona State 52 – 34 . The Longhorns finished the season 10 – 3 , marking their seventh consecutive 10 - win season . This streak became the third highest in FBS history , trailing Florida State ' s 14 from 1987 – 00 and Miami ' s 8 from 1985 – 92 . 2008 season . The 2008 Texas Longhorn football team entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll . They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings . Texas began Big 12 Conference play on October 4 , 2008 with a trip to Boulder , Colorado and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes . On October 11 , 2008 they defeated the number - one ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 103rd Red River Shootout . It was the third UT win in four seasons , and the first time in Brown ' s tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout . < ref name = " TX / ou recap " > < / ref > Following the victory over OU , the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP , ESPN / USA Today , and Harris Polls . In their next game they secured a win over # 11 Missouri in Austin , setting a new school , state , and conference attendance record in the process . It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the # 1 team in the AP . They were ranked # 1 in the first BCS standings of 2008 . Texas defending the first place ranking by beating another top - ten team , the Oklahoma State Cowboys . They lost to Texas Tech in the final second of the game and fell to # 4 in the BCS rankings . The Longhorns entered 2008 as the third most victorious program in college football history , in terms of both total wins and win percentage . Only Notre Dame and the University of Michigan had won more games and a greater percentage of games played than Texas , On November 8 , 2008 , Texas ' 45 – 21 victory over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program , which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of total wins . Notre Dame lost later the same day , leaving the two teams tied . Texas pulled ahead of Notre Dame at the end of the regular season , to take sole possession of # 2 on the list . Texas won a road game against Kansas 35 – 7 ; ensuring their eighth consecutive season with ten or more wins per season . That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami ( 1985 – 92 ) for the second - longest streak of all - time . Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A & M , the Longhorns longest running - rivalry oppoenent . The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A & M 48 – 0 in 1898 . Texas nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49 – 9 victory , the second - largest margin of victory for this rivalry series . It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown , and it set a new attendance record for UT , the State of Texas , the Big 12 Conference , and the southwest region . This left Texas in a three - way tie ( with Oklahoma and Texas Tech ) for the Big 12 South championship , which created a controversy over BCS rankings and conference tie - breaking procedures . Texas defeated Ohio State 24 - 21 in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl to finish the season 12 - 1 . Brown ' s Legacy to Date . Texas Longhorns ' Head Coach Mack Brown ' s year - by - year records ( with bowl appearances ) are as follows : The Longhorns are 134 - 34 under Head Coach Mack Brown overall , and are 82 - 22 in Big 12 Conference play . These standings reflect the Longhorns ' membership of the Big 12 South Division from 1998 - 2010 , and of the Big 12 Conference from 2011 - present . The Longhorns are 9 - 4 in bowl games under Brown and have been bowl - eligible for 13 of 14 seasons during his tenure , including 12 straight years from 1998 - 2009 . Additionally , Brown ' s Horns have won the Big 12 South division title six times , the Big 12 Conference title twice ( 2005 , 2009 ) , and the National Championship once ( 2005 ) . Mack Brown has led the Longhorns to three BCS bowl wins in four appearances . After Brown . On November 18 , 2008 , The University of Texas announced that Longhorn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head football coach . They agreed in principle to increase Muschamp ’ s salary to $ 900 , 000 . There was no timetable set for Brown ’ s departure , and both Brown and UT said they expected Brown to stay a long time . Following the Longhorns ' 5 - 7 season in 2010 , Muschamp accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida and it is currently unknown if the school is willing to designate a new " head coach in waiting . " Annual salary . Brown ' s annual salary since his arrival at Texas in 1998 is as follows . Brown will make an additional $ 100 , 000 each year , not including incentives . Salary controversy . In 2009 , Brown ' s salary was increased to $ 5 . 1 million ( excluding bonuses and incentives ) a raise of about $ 2 million . This has led to much controversy on the UT campus as it came at a time when academic programs have been facing significant cutbacks . On December 14 , 2009 the UT faculty council held a special meeting to consider the following resolution " We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and , especially , the student - athletes , to the community of the University of Texas at Austin . However , at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes , and lecturers , teaching assistants , and staff are facing job terminations , we believe a permanent raise of $ 2 million ( a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee ) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate . " However , Brown ' s salary is not paid from state tax dollars , unlike nearly all university employees . When asked about the raise , university officials noted that Brown ' s salary is " paid entirely with money raised by the athletic department revenues . . . No state tax money is used . " Outside of football . Mack Brown is married to his wife , Sally . They have 4 children : Matt Jessee , Katherine Brown , Barbara Wilson , and Chris Jessee . In Austin , the Browns continue to be active in community affairs , serving as honorary co - chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin . The Brown ' s have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin ( an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers ) and serve on the schools Board of Directors . They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street / Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School . The Browns ' have endorsed [ a ] new Texas license plate , which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse and neglect and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates ( CASA ) volunteers . After the Aggie Bonfire tragedy at Texas A & M in 1999 , the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors . " In October 2006 , Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for " Friday Night Lights " . Early in the show , a resident is heard to say " Who does he think he is ? He ain ' t no Mack Brown . " Later in the pilot , the real Mack Brown plays the role of a local football booster quizzing high - school coach Eric Taylor on his pre - game preparation .