Dre Jones in happier times, when he committed to UT. An arrest warrant was issued for Jones in connection with a robbery.
Mack needs to act
by Cedric Golden
Tough discipline, changes in recruiting needed after rash of Longhorn arrests.
Friday, August 03, 2007 The Texas Longhorns are no longer the fair-haired boys of college football.
"We are Texas"? How about: "Which Texas is this"?
Not the Texas that coach Mack Brown molded into a national power with high-character recruits who rarely ran afoul of the law. Not the Texas that steered clear of serious off-the-field offenses.
The second arrest of former UT safety Robert Joseph, this time on aggravated robbery charges, was a head shaker. For the Longhorn Nation, the allegation that freshman defensive tackle Dre Jones participated in the robbery, too, was like running headfirst into a tackling dummy. Without a helmet.
We can't keep saying "another black eye for the program" because the eyes of Texas are rapidly becoming slits. No amount of makeup can cover up these scars. Hook 'em is fast becoming Book 'em.
Since Mack and Vince Young led the program to a fourth national championship on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, there have been 10 — count 'em, 10 — arrests of players involved with the Texas program. Five have come in the last two months.
What is going on here?
Accountability is everything, and Mack must take the hit here. He won a national title and returned this program to top-five prominence. Now he must re-evaluate his recruiting practices before his program disintegrates into something ugly, or uglier.
Brown has a problem in his football family, and he must face that fact. Instead of taking responsibility, he chided the media this week when he said, "It's very interesting that when you have 130 kids, and 128 of them do everything right, if one gets in trouble, you stir it up about one or two."
I like Mack. He's a good, family man who could charm the rattles off a Texas rattlesnake, but the time has come to take another approach in determining what type of kids he's bringing in here. I know there are background checks conducted on recruits every year. Incoming freshmen in orientation are cautioned to avoid drinking, late nights and to pick their friends wisely.
It's worked for the most part, but changes are obviously needed. What changes are up to Mack. That's why he makes over $2 million a year, to make those tough decisions.
If eight current and/or former players are arrested within an 18-month period, it puts a damper on the clean standing of the other 78 players. Bad news travels fast.
This is not the time for coaches or fans to make excuses. Be angry, not apathetic.
One or two arrests a year? Happens in most every major football program in America. But 10 in a year and a half? Now you're venturing into the seedy era of the camouflage-wearing Miami Hurricanes of yesteryear. We saw what Joe Paterno did when six of his Penn State players were arrested for a fight on campus. In addition to any legal punishment the offenders must face, he ordered the entire team to clean the football stadium after each home game.
Like it or not, it's called accountability. Accountability not only as a football player but as a football program.
Brown can't be everywhere his players go. But they hang out with one another. If a team member knew about guns or robberies, they should have intervened.
In the Texas football media guide, Jones is described as a Parade high school All-American, an honor roll student who graduated from Andress High School in El Paso early so he could join his future college teammates for spring football.
Jones grew up dreaming of being in the UT starting lineup one day, not the photo lineup in which he was identified. Now he will join Joseph in jail, in a different shade of orange uniform.
Which brings us to the easiest decision Mack Brown has faced since he offered Vince Young a scholarship. The lawbreakers must go.
Haven't these kids learned anything from Michael Vick? This dude was a $100 million industry unto himself and now there are sewer rats who wouldn't trade places with him. The lesson is you're only as good as your associations. If you lie down with dogs, you will soon wake up with fleas. So If you want to follow your buddy to the penitentiary, go ahead. But you shouldn't be allowed to do it under the guise of being a law-abiding student-athlete for a college reputed to recruit solid citizens.
How many times have we heard coach Brown say: "He's a good kid from a good family."? Well, it's time to find some better kids. More Kelsons and McCoys. Fewer thugs.
cgolden@statesman.com; 912-5944
_________________________________________________________________
My thoughts here...
I love Mack Brown. I think he's a good guy and a great coach. I think he has an outstanding eye for talent and can pick some of the best of them.
Above that... He's a GREAT recruiter.
And herein lies the problem. Mack is a buddy to his players. He's always been depicted as such a nice guy (which he is) and a player's advocate. When he speaks I can tell he really cares about his players and sees them as his extended family. Two years ago when he went forward to the media and says that Texas deserved a BCS bid I truly believe he did that because he thought his players deserved it.
Here's the problem though. You can't be their coach and their friends. You just can't. You need to know that in this situation you are their coach and not their best friend.
I would like to compare him to Franchione but that is not possible. Obviously Mack has a better record, gets better recruits, and is liked more. Fran is all business, not overly personable, not the greatest recruiter, and isn't very well liked in general.
But here's the difference. Fran does not put up w/ crap in his regime. Players under him say that he is a good coach but not likeable in practice or game situations. He is not tolerant of much and distances himself from players. You see pictures of Mack in practice and you find him much more involved with his players smiling. I can listen to Mack Brown talk all day... he just has that persona and charm that the media loves. Fran does not. Fran kinda drives me a little nuts to be honest. Not much personality in there and doesn't seem to enjoy the spotlight.
Which is better? That depends on your view. I think in the long run Mack will always be considered a better coach than Fran. But I respect Fran a lot more for his program's respectability and integrity. Maybe Fran's just lucky in this. Maybe Mack's just unlucky. But most of the problems that have plagued A&M in the past w/ legal trouble seems to have faded under Fran... and picked up a bit for Texas under Mack.
