Texas Two Step… Not Again

I think Mack Brown (Texas Head Coach) presents himself as well or better than any coach in college football. He always accents the positive, seems genuinely concerned about the people in his program, after games (win or lose) you see him warmly greet opposing coaches and players, and he interacts very effectively with the media. The last two years are proof positive, that Mack is deeply integrated into the Texas college football psyche as I do not believe anyone else could go 5-7 (in 2010) and then 8-5 (in 2011) @ Texas and not experience extreme heat.  Not only has Mack not suffered 3rd degree burns, his seat does not even appear to be warm. I think in today’s world of “you better win and win yesterday or else”… this is remarkable!

My brother Pat (coached basketball for 30 plus years) always says that coaches’ critics have an absolute foolproof way to describe you negatively: 1) if you lose … your a Bum… forget lack of team talent… it is not relevant; 2) If you win….. you cannot win the “big one” …a choke artist to be sure, …and….  3) If you win and win the “big one” … you have talent and who couldn’t win with those players… so maybe talent is relevant?! Pat actually did the things in his personal / professional life (this I know … he’s my brother) that my very public perception suggests about Mack’s behavior!

That said, Mack’s persona …like Oklahoma’s talent on the O-line …  is not without limit. He really needs to get this thing done this year and, in Texas, that means a double digit win season. So why have the Longhorns not settled on a QB? Bryan Harsin ( the trick artist from Idaho… Boise State), Texas Offensive Coordinator, has announced that both David Ash and Case McCoy will play in their opener against Wyoming. Harsin (you remember him … the Statue of Liberty play against Oklahoma in the 07 Fiesta Bowl) basically said, try as may, there are more reasons (based on their practice performances) to play both Ash & McCoy. …. then to name one of them the starter and sit the other. Since the departure of Garrett Gilbert, Texas has played musical chairs with their QB and by their standards, done so, with disastrous results.

I, for one, was hoping Mack would come out and name  a starting QB… I really did not care who… but if they called Sully’s CFP for advise… I would recommend Ash or McCoy… but not both! Neither one of these guys had very good numbers (Ash had a 56.6 completion percentage…. to McCoy’s 61.4 rate…. while Ash threw 4 TD’s to 8 INT’s…. to McCoy’s 7 TD’s to 4 INT) … maybe focusing on not making a mistake … becoming your dominate thought and all that psych stuff! After McCoy turned the ball over five times against Baylor in their final regular season game… Ask took every snap against California, in Texas’ 21-10 Holiday Bowl  victory. Based on the bowl result…. I thought it would be Ash to lead the Horns this year.

While I like Mack’s public image and wish him well… I think this two QB approach is a bad idea… real bad…. name one and go forward. The QB leads the team… he needs to have his eyes down the field not over his shoulder! Yes injuries happen and QB’s go down … and the guy who comes in … becomes the unquestioned leader of the team … with two QB’s … all you have are unanswered questions!