Daily Links & Banter 7/23: Mack Brown

Brown Returns to a Vastly Different ACC Than the Last One He Coached In

Mack Brown begins his first season back in college football after resigning in 2013 from the Texas Longhorns. The game has been able to change, but most of college football, including those who root for UNC, is skeptical that Brown has been able to keep up with the times.

Beyond the fact that Brown hasn’t been coaching in nearly seven years, but it has been (literally) an entire millennium since the last time Brown even coached in the ACC.

The last time Brown coached in the ACC was in 1997, that year the Tar Heels went 10-1 and following that season Brown was scooped up by the Longhorns to be their next head coach.

Much has changed in the ACC since Brown left, including the size of the conference. The ACC has included teams like Virginia Tech, Louisville, Miami and a vast majority of former Big East teams as well as the departure of Maryland from the conference since Brown’s departure in 1997.

Not only that, recruiting has become a whole different game now since the last time he coached. Satellite camps make it easier for larger programs like Michigan and Alabama to have camps for players that can’t make it to Ann Arbor or Tuscaloosa respectively.

Much of the offenses in the ACC have changed since the last time Brown coached in the conference as well. Most offensive schemes were built around the running game during the ’90s, but now an emphasis on protecting the quarterback in recent years has made it much easier to opt for a spread attack.

According to what he told CBS Sports, he doesn’t seem to phased by the issue and thinks he has been able to change in the last five years.

"“I think we’re all creatures of habit. If we’re not careful, we get in a little box sometimes. We don’t get outside the box. Leaving Texas got me outside the box,” Brown said. “We did pretty much the same stuff at Texas that we did [at UNC] the first time. I think over the last five years, I’ve learned that there’s other ways to do things as well.”"

So can Brown make the adjustments to fit what is going on now nearly a decade after his last national championship appearance? I believe he will, but it’s going to take some time. The defense will more than likely be the first thing that will be looked at, as the team played little to no defense during the years that Larry Fedora was the head coach.

Daily Links

Panthers make the list of Forbes 50 most valuable sports franchise, landing in the top-40

Selecting the NC State Wolfpack’s Mount Rushmore of Running Backs

Top Prospects Lost This Season for Wake Forest Demon Deacons