By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
When College Football Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown arrived at the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Kickoff Dinner Monday night, he was ready to speak to hundreds of local football fans.
He had no idea that 13 players from his last Tulane team, the 1987 Green Wave squad that played in the I-Bowl, would be there, up north five hours from New Orleans and more far-flung locations.
Obviously delighted when they took the stage before his remarks at the Shreveport Convention Center, Brown spent time during the event and afterwards reminiscing about the three years he spent breathing life into the Green Wave football team and an athletic program shaken by a gambling scandal that shut down the basketball team.
It dovetailed perfectly into the presentation he planned, stressing that while winning games is vitally important, the ultimate mission of a successful coach is to help his players develop as people who are best equipped to live happy, productive and successful lives after football. And, he said, that approach carries past the game and into life for anyone.
“You get up every day, thinking what can you do to help somebody else,” he said. “Because it’s not about you. It’s about giving (to others).”
Brown, 73, is out of coaching – again, but he didn’t rule out a comeback – after getting dismissed from his second stint at North Carolina. In his first stay in Chapel Hill (1988-97), he elevated the Tar Heels from an ACC also-ran to a Top 25 program, and that turnaround earned him the chance to take over at Texas. He was there from 1998-2013, notably leading the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship. After being nudged out at UT, he spent five years as a television analyst until UNC beckoned again.
During a college coaching career that produced 288 wins after it began as a student coach at Florida State once five knee surgeries halted his playing days in 1973, Brown adapted a values-centered approach that surpassed Xs and Os.
“At my age in coaching, everything I’ve done, I hope that it’s helped some of the players, because the players are the most important things in my life, other than my family,” he said after the crowd left and his Green Wave gang followed him into his post-speech media session.
“To see them with their smiles tonight (on stage) is unbelievable. In fact, I had trouble gathering myself again to go speak (after) seeing their faces and think(ing) about moments and things we did. We had to fight. It was a struggle when we got there. We didn’t have anything. These guys all fought their guts out, and they were positive, and they picked me up.”
They did it again Monday night. They brought a promotional poster autographed by the team during its I-Bowl stay in 1987 and showed it to their beloved coach as the group headed away from the media session and downstairs to the lobby at the adjacent Hilton hotel.
Brown’s first trip to the Independence Bowl was bittersweet – he accepted the North Carolina job before the Wave traveled to Shreveport, and took heat from Tulane fans and parents of some players. He was proud his squad put up a competitive battle against Don James’ Washington Huskies in a 24-12 loss – “I’ve watched the video, and these guys played their butts off and gave us a chance to beat a really good team,” he said — but after Monday night, he has much fonder memories of visiting Shreveport.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com