The Mack Brown (Get Schooled) School of Coaching

Since coming to UT, Mack Brown has been the picture of consistency. He regularly out-recruits other coaches...and just as regularly gets out-coached on game day. Seldom has a college coach accrued more talent and accomplished less with it.

The exception, of course, was the Vince Young era. Young is a transcendent athlete (a bitter Matt Leinart called him a "freakish athlete" after the Trojans' bitter loss to Texas in the national championship game two years ago), who was able to place the entire team on his shoulders and will them to victory despite glaring game day coaching gaffes and scheme deficiencies.

But Young has moved on to Tennessee and the perfectly-named Colt McCoy has taken the reins. McCoy is a nice player, gritty and tough and above average in the talent department. But, he is no Vince Young.

And therein lies the problem! Brown and his colossally unimaginative offensive coordinator, Greg Davis, haven't yet realized that Young is gone. They are still running that shotgun option offense most of the time. It was a great fit for Young, whose running ability in the open field is legendary. Not so, for McCoy. Moreover, the scheme has kept Jamaal Charles from turning in the kind of performances his talent and raw speed suggest he ought.

Why not implement some I-formation or pro set? Why not give Charles a fullback to block for him, open some holes, get him past the stinking line of scrimmage, where his elusiveness and speed make him an eminent threat?

Obviously, when recruiting McCoy, the Longhorns weren't tailoring personnel to fit their scheme. So why do the knuckleheads refuse to tailor their scheme to fit the current personnel? It makes no sense.

With the news that the Oklahoma Sooners are schooling the 'Horns in the recruiting department (see previous blog: The Sooner, The Better), it looks as if the one edge Mack had on the Big 12 - and the nation - has been lost. The guy better either figure out how to coach these kids up or find himself an offensive coordinator who can. (How did he let Todd Dodge escape to the University of North Texas???) Otherwise, it is going to be a long season...maybe several long seasons.

And I won't even mention the talent-laden and hoppin' mad Sooners they have to deal with in 14 hours.