Mack Brown is open to coaching return

Mack Brown has been out long enough for coaching again to be unlikely, but he is not shutting the door on it.

Mack Brown had a successful run as head coach at the University of Texas from 1998-2013, with a 158-48 record, a national title in 2005 and another BCS national title game appearance in 2009. But a 5-7 record in 2010, and three more seasons with less than 10 wins, led to him stepping down after the 2013 season.

Including his time at Appalachian State (1983), Tulane (1985-1987) and North Carolina (1988-1997), Brown has a 244-122-1 record as a head coach. At 65 years old now (66 in August), with a pretty good gig as an analyst for ESPN, coaching would seem to clearly be in Brown’s rearview mirror. But as fellow ESPN analyst Lee Corso would say, not so fast.

During an interview with Sirius XM on Wednesday, Brown suggested he absolutely wants to coach again.

The speculation machine may now start surrounding Brown, since his name still carries notoriety, as a candidate for any open jobs looking toward 2018. But his 30-21 record over his last four seasons at Texas, and a disciplinary mess he left for Charlie Strong in Austin, may diminish Brown in the eyes of other schools.

Advanced age may be a secondary factor to affect interest, but if Brown can still court some notable assistants his overall track record should get him interviews. Assuming he really does want to coach again when it comes time to be out there as a candidate, of course.

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The list of notable schools looking for a new football coach could be long after the 2017 season-including Notre Dame, Texas A&M, UCLA, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Arizona State, Nebraska and Texas Tech. Chip Kelly should have his pick of any big openings, but Brown could be right there in the mix based on his name alone. If Brown is willing to go outside the Power 5 conferences to coach again, then his options will obviously widen.