A little love for Mack

Mack Brown's got a national title in his back pocket and he's in line for another this season at Texas. Yet Mack is rarely the answer when the question of "Who's the best college football coach?" is asked.

Joe Posnanski of SI says it's time to recognize Mack as the mack daddy. He gives his reasons, some of which will amuse still-bitter UNC fans, but Posnanski's got a point.

And defining the "best" and the "worst" is by nature subjective and there are too many categories you can't quantify, game management topping that list, but I'll say this for Mack: since 1998, Mack's first in Austin after leaving Chapel Hill, Texas has won more games (110) than any other BCS program.

Is Mack going to out-smart Jim Grobe or out-cool Pete Carroll, probably not. And I'm not saying he is definitively the best, just that has done enough to belong on the short list of the game's best. Certainly this season has helped his reputation because for whatever reason, we don't like to give coaches credit for winning when they have outstanding talent.

Mack's long been regarded as the game's best recruiter but he has been criticized, sometimes fairly, for not winning enough with that talent.

When Texas won the national title in 2005 it was chalked up to Vince Young's talent, not Mack's leadership. Without Young, Mack's back at No. 1 and now Mack's getting his due.

Another number to think about in terms of Mack's relative greatness. Like Steve Spurrier, the program Mack left, up until the 2008 season, had failed miserably to duplicate his success.

While Texas is No. 1 in the BCS in wins since '98, the Tar Heels rank 60th, out of 66 teams, with a 52-73 record.

I feel like there should be an endorsement at the end of this post:

"I'm Mack Brown and I approve this message"

But it's hard to argue with the numbers.