It’s no secret that Mack Brown has come under fire this season for a less than impressive performance by his Longhorns.

However, while fans are calling for Brown’s head, it is also no secret that he has helped turn Texas into the program and name it is today.

The Tennessee native has a 158-46 mark at Texas, giving him the Darrell K. Royal. Brown has made two national championship game appearances, including one win, and captured two Big 12 titles.

With his successes, though, Brown has also had a few tough years. He notes his first season (1998), the 2010 season and this current season as the toughest three years he’s had at the program.

“Yeah this is probably one of the toughest years,” Brown said. “2010 wasn’t a bright spot in my life. Probably the first year, ‘10 and this year have been the three most challenging. First year, just because we were coming off 4-7 and trying to put it all together and started 1-2.”

This season, Brown also started 1-2, the first time since that 1998 season. In that year, Texas ended 8-3 and made an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. Now, however, the Longhorns have a chance to clinch at least a share of a Big 12 title, an almost unfathomable thought at the beginning of the season.

The veteran head coach has had to make a few decisions to get to this point, the largest of which was to replace defensive coordinator Manny Diaz at the beginning of the season. Brown brought in Greg Robinson, a familiar face to Texas, who has gone 7-2 as the defensive play-caller this season.

“It was a very difficult decision because you never want to change coaches,” Brown said. “That’s never something you like doing, especially during the season, I’ve never done that. But I will say it’s worked.”

While many speculate whether this will be the final season to Brown’s storied tenure at Texas, he has learned to put off the worries of his job security. Instead, he is only focused on his day-to-day planning.

“I don’t even go there,” Brown said. “This place helps you focus on your job and not worry about all the stuff around it cause that gets you in trouble. What I’ve learned is to try and win the game on Saturday and keep our guys focused and our coaches focused. The rest of it really isn’t important.”