When both Dan Lanning and Mack Brown entered the media room Tuesday morning at Petco Park, you could see one of the two was a bit more relaxed than the other.
Can you guess which?
If you guessed Mack Brown you’d be correct.
This is Brown’s sixth appearance at the Holiday Bowl and his 25th bowl appearance overall as a head coach so his level of anxiety is minimal.
In fact, Brown was downright playful as he navigated his way through a room full of media members, cameras, and lights.
As for Lanning, he sat at the dais with a bit more nervous energy.
And rightly so since this is his very first bowl appearance as a head coach with high hopes of notching his first post-season win.
It was apparent from the outset that Brown had been here before and was comfortable holding court in front of the more than two dozen reporters in the room.
Like a good comedian will do, Brown grabbed the attention of his audience by spinning this yarn about Duck QB Bo Nix and his willingness to instigate a little accident on the USS Abraham Lincoln to keep Nix from playing in Wednesday’s game.
“We were on the ship, and Dan and I and Bo were touring together. Bo was going up the steps in front of me, and I started to grab his ankle (laughing), but there were too many cameras. I didn’t want to hurt him bad. It’s just one game.
But I’ve been there. God looked at me and said, No, don’t do that.”
The room laughed and so did Lanning.
And when asked to recall some of his favorite Holiday Bowl memories, Brown pulled this one out of the vault from 2007 when his Texas Longhorns played and beat Arizona State 52-34. Rather than recalling a special play from the game, Brown talked about his son touching a ‘live’ ball on the field after a Sun Devil fumble.
“I think the last time we were here, my son walked out on the field. And he didn’t touch the ball, but the official said he touched the ball, and they called it an egregious ( unsportsmanlike ) foul on us against Arizona State in 2007.
“So that’s the memory I have more than anything else because then I lied because I walked off the field, and somebody said, Who was that kid that touched the ball? I said I have no idea (laughing), and it was my son.
Then he said after half-time, Can I go back out there? I think he was 18, 19, or something at the time. I said, No, keep your mouth shut and stay in here and
watch it on TV. Then I looked up after the game, and he is doing an interview about touching the ball (laughing). Those are the memories that I have.”
Again, the room erupted in laughter and Brown seemed right in his element.
As for Lanning, it was business as usual staying on point and focused on the task at hand.
He touched on several topics including talking about his biggest adjustment moving from a coordinator to a head coach.
“I was talking to Coach Brown about this yesterday” explained Lanning.
“You know, all of a sudden every problem becomes your problem, right? Before it was just the defensive problems were my problem. I didn’t really have to worry about the offensive problem or special teams.
“That’s certainly been a transition where you’re part of every decision that’s made within a program. I’ve been fortunate enough, I hired outstanding coaches. We have phenomenal players, and we’re able to let them do their job, and they do a great job. But it lets me kind of oversee, and some of the best coaches that I have ever been around they do a great job of facilitating that but
letting their coaches coach and players play. That’s been my goal sitting in this seat here and certainly, feel like I’ve been able to do that.”
HOLIDAY BOWL MEDIA BRIEFING; Dan Lanning and Mack Brown Speak to the Media