Mack Brown | CFTT

Are we watching the end of Mack Brown’s string?

October 28, 2010 By toddler Leave a Comment

Author: Adam Jones. Adam is the author of Rose Bowl Dreams and a friend of CFTT in which he has contributed a previous article. Further, Adam is the author of Jones Top Ten, a blog which has been telling “The Truth about College Football since 1995.”

Adam Comments: Many of you know that I occasionally contribute to a site run by a loosely affiliated group of verbal anarchists called Barking Carnival –it is a “Texas site” but regularly covers college football as a whole. My piece today commented specifically on Mack Brown, but more generally about how, historically, the game is unkind even to the best of coaches. Enjoy (or delete if you prefer…): A Remembrance of Things Past, and a reminder that things don’t last I wrote the following in the Jones Top Ten this week:

Texas and Florida are headed to the same place for very different reasons. While I fully believe that Urban Meyer has lost his passion for the game, in Mack Brown’s case, the evidence mounts that the game has simply passed him by. Impossible for a coach whose team played for a national title ten months ago? On the surface maybe, but college football history suggests otherwise.

It bears a fuller explanation. Not only do I believe the above statement is true, I also believe we are at the end of this Texas string, which has, at times, been glorious and has almost always been marked by excellent football.

[Read more...]

Book Review: Rose Bowl Dreams

November 21, 2008 By toddler 7 Comments

As a Razorback fan, it might be blasphemous to read a book about an obsessed Texas Longhorn fan, but I enjoyed Adam Jones’ foray into the world of college football writing. Jones is the humorous author of the Jones Top Ten blog, and someone had enough sense to recruit him to write a book. The “official” title of the book is Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family and Football. I discovered his site a year or so ago when I began entertaining the thought of securing a domain for my blog. I was posting a blog, with a top ten, and my name was Jones. It was natural I would come across his blog. Interestingly, I had a high school classmate with the same name and wondered for about five seconds if it was him. Of course not!

Some reviewers are uncomfortable with Jones’ use of faith, recording his conversations with God (real or imagined) and general recalling of church life. However, for those of us who grew up in a culture in which faith was intertwined in all of life, we understand the importance. Truth be known, those of us in Arkansas who are religious have our own belief about God being a Razorback. After all, our coaches have been known for their great work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Doesn’t that qualify? While Jones grew up Presbyterian with a Baptist background, he is now a lay leader in the Methodist church.

Jones grew up in the West Texas town of Canyon. Canyon was the home to West Texas State University, now West Texas A&M. West Texas State was the beloved school of his family of whom his grandfather was a legendary coach and dean for the school. The Buffaloes were known more for the emergence of professional wrestlers than football stars, however, with one last hoo-rah in Division I football, Jones retells of the upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater. But, Jones’ destiny was in Austin, TX. After attending a game while visiting his brother who was a student at the University of Texas, Jones fell in love with the Longhorns. Jones became a certified fan when he too, became a student at Texas.

While Jones became an obsessed Texas Longhorn fan, the football team did not understand the importance of winning a national title in his honor. Year after year, the Longhorns suffered in mediocrity until Jones left for graduate school in “Nawth Kalina.” Upon returning to Austin, Jones and his young son embarked on the long road of single dad and football fans. Jones’ reason for optimism began to increase with the hiring of Texas coach Mack Brown. However, the Longhorns continued to underachieve leaving Jones grasping for hope.

Then, with hope all but gone, a miracle showed up in the form of quarterback Vincent Young of Houston, TX. Game after game matured Young as he became a fearless leader leading the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl victory over the University of Michigan with all the college football world watching. Young unmistakenly predicted that the Longhorns would return to the Rose Bowl to play in the national championship game. With all of his will and natural leadership ability, Young proved his prediction true leading the Longhorns to the long awaited national title game to play against the much heralded USC Trojans who sported two Heisman Trophy winners. You know the rest of the story.

Is this book only for Longhorn fans? One could argue that, but college football fans, while extremely different, have one thing in common. They are passionate about their teams. Adam could simply subsititute any team for the Longhorns, and the book would appeal to religious-type, church-going, college football fans anywhere. Well, almost. Maybe each college football team has an Adam Jones, and maybe he (or she) will share his story too.

Filed Under: 2008 Archives, Reviews Tagged With: Adam Jones, Jones Top Ten, Mack Brown, Rose Bowl Dreams, Texas Longhorns, Vincent Young

Top Ten Coaches

May 5, 2008 By toddler 6 Comments

I wrote in a previous post that I would reveal my top ten coaches list. Here is my list. Of course, I know it is a subjective exercise. Most will not agree with me. That’s fine. But I’ll give you my list, and I will also try to explain why. As before, this list is not in ascending or descending order.

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State University–It’s hard to argue with Tressel’s success at Ohio State. However, he won four national titles in Division I-AA before jumping to Division I-A (now the Bowl Championship Division) to coach Ohio State. In 21 years as a head coach Tressel has 11 Ten Win seasons. Four titles in Division I-AA and one in Division I-A while at Ohio State. His accomplishments should not be diminished by the Buckeye losses in two straight national title games. The Buckeyes will be an early favorite to make a third straight appearance in 2009, and this time they might win the game. Tressel’s ability to lure prize recruit Terrelle Pryor may have been the advantage he needed to win the title.

2. Urban Meyer, University of Florida– Coach Meyer has been head coaching for 7 years, and 3 of those seasons were Ten Win seasons. Remarkably, Meyer has not finished a year as a head coach with less than 8 wins. Meyer is the hot new young coach for most. His Gators expect to be a major contender both in the SEC and nationally during the 2008-09 season behind returning QB and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

3. Pete Carroll, University of Southern California– Few could argue with Carroll’s inclusion on a Top Ten Coaches list. USC had an astounding 10 players taken in the 2008 NFL draft. Carroll was 6-6 in his first season at USC, but then he won at least 11 games in each of his next six seasons. Carroll led USC to 2 BCS National title game appearances, 2 AP and 1 BCS National Championships, and six straight top 4 finishes. Carroll’s Trojans have either won or tied for the Pac 10 Championship for six straight seasons. In the last three years, USC has been an early season favorite to play in the BCS National Championship Game. Carroll’s resume is impressive.

4. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State University–In 21 seasons as head coach, Erickson has 7 10 win seasons and 2 National Championships. Erickson has coached six different college football teams and is prone to jumping around a bit. Nevertheless, when Erickson takes over a program, he usually makes it a winner. His first year at Arizona State, Erickson led the Devils to 10-3 record and a share of the Pac 10 Championship. Erickson is leading a Devil Storm in the Desert.

5. Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma–Stoops had a fast start in Norman. In just his second year, the Sooners won the National Championship. Rarely does Stoops lose the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas. Stoops has seven 11 win seasons in 9 years as the head Sooner coach. Stoops’ teams have reached a BCS Bowl 6 different times, winning the first 2.

6. Mac Brown, University of Texas–Brown’s resume was punctuated by a National Championship in 2005 with a thrilling win over USC in one of the greatest 1 vs. 2 and National Championship Games ever. Led by QB Vince Young, Brown’s Longhorns answered every challenge during the year by several teams to make it to the Rose Bowl for the National Title. USC did not have answer for UT’s Young as he scrambled and passed his way to a second consecutive Rose Bowl title and the BCS National Championship. Brown has ten 10 win seasons in 20 years of coaching.

7. Phillip Fulmer, University of Tennessee–Fulmer has nine 10 win seasons in 16 years as head coach of the Volunteers. Fulmer has six SEC East Division Titles (1 shared) and 2 SEC Championships. Fulmer’s Vols have been to two BCS Bowl games and won one National title. Fulmer has a 76.6% winning percentage. All he has done at Tennessee is win. In Knoxville, there are 109,000 screaming fans singing Rocky Talk.

8. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech University–Beamer has been a head coach for 27 years, yet he still produces good teams. Beamer has nine 10 win seasons including four straight. Bearmer’s teams are usually among the best in special teams, and players regularly compete for a lunch pail.

9. Mark Richt, University of Georgia–Richt has five 10 win seasons in 7 years as a head coach, all at Georgia. Richt’s teams have been to three BCS Bowls and has two SEC Championships. Richt’s ‘Dawgs are many people’s pre-season favorite to win the 2008-2009 BCS National Championship. Georgia rallied last year after two early season losses to finish number 2 in the final polls. The Bulldogs were widely considered the hottest team at the end of the 2007-2008 season.

10. Gary Patterson, Texas Christian University–Patterson’s Horned Frogs have four 10 win seasons in his 7 years as head Frog. Patterson’s teams have finished ranked four times. The Frogs have accomplished all of this during the Patterson era while competing in three different conferences and knocking off teams from BCS conferences. Twice in the Patterson era TCU knocked at the BCS Bowl party door. The Frogs under Patterson have upsets against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The Frogs recently knocked off Stanford in 2007 the week after the Cardinals upset USC at the Coliseum. The Frogs return a lot of talent to make another run at the Mountain West Conference Title.