In our final post for our decade series, we finish with the head coach. During the decade the Texas Longhorns football compiled a record of 70-57, not exactly the standard of excellence that many expected in Austin. They could add one win or loss to that number when they play the Alamo Bowl on December 31st.
During this decade the Longhorns had three head coaches. That is the most head coaches in a decade span since the 1990-1999 seasons in which Texas also had three men leading the football team. Tom Herman currently holds a record of 24-15 and 2-0 in bowl games.
Charlie Strong joined Texas in 2014 but lasted just three seasons in which his teams lost seven games each and every season. Strong was 16-21 during that time and was never fully received in Austin but as they say winning cures all. In his lone bowl appearance, Texas came up on the losing end.
However the man who gets the honor as best head coach of the decade is Mack Brown. Brown took over as head coach for the Longhorns in 1998, replacing John Mackovic who coached Texas for six seasons. Brown stayed in Austin until 2013 enjoying 16 seasons where Texas rose to the top in most cases. He brought the Longhorns their first National Championship since 1981. The Longhorns would play for another title in 2009.
During his four-year run to begin the decade, Brown had a record of 30-21. His bowl record was 2-1. In his final game as the head coach, Brown’s Longhorns lost in the Alamo Bowl. The Longhorns won at least eight games in three of those four years. Even though it was on the back end of his career, Brown still did enough to be coach of the decade.