Mack Brown

SI: How big was last year's win over A&M before the Aggies left for the SEC?

MB: It was really important. People talked about that being the everlasting scoreboard, and for the game to be so good was a credit to the schools. For us to be down at halftime, go ahead, get down again and then come back was really, really special.

SI: You've lived in Texas 14 years now. Barbecue or Tex-Mex?

MB: Barbecue. Still a Tennessee--North Carolina boy at heart.

SI: FAVORITE BBQ JOINT ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL?

MB: YOU DON'T HAVE TIME. YOU GRAB SOMETHING ON THE WAY TO THE NEXT SCHOOL. [BUT] IT'S OBVIOUS I LIKE TO EAT EVERYWHERE.

SI: In 1998 you launched a seminar in dining etiquette for freshmen. Do you still attend?

MB: I do. In fact we're thinking about doing it for our freshmen and then doing it for our seniors, kind of an exit dinner because they're getting ready to interview for jobs—just give them a refresher course.

SI: What valuable things do they learn?

MB: Most of us haven't been taught about all the forks and spoons and where the bread plate is. I still sit down and think, Do I go left or right? What do you order at an interview? You don't want corn, you don't want a soup. You don't want to wear it. It's basic stuff, and the guys have great questions: Can you have your cellphone on? If you're sitting there with iced-tea sweetener bags and you open the little packets, what do you do with them when you put them down?