Coach Watson Brown has always done things his way. I like that. And it sure has made his journey an interesting one. 
    I first heard of Watson as the young quarterback out of Cookeville, Tennessee, who turned down Bear Bryant and Alabama, so he could stay close to home and play for Bill Pace at Vanderbilt (Pace ended up being my QB Coach at Georgia). Imagine that? And Vandy beat Bama his freshman season in 1969. After his senior season in 1972, Watson jumped into coaching.
    His first coaching job was on Pat Dye's East Carolina staff in 1974 coaching the QBs. Watson told me Bear Bryant recommended him to Dye. After a couple of other stops (Jacksonville State, Texas Tech), Watson resurfaced as the OC at Vanderbilt my senior season at Georgia (1981). His wide-open offense made Commodore QB Whit Taylor a household name back then. I took notice, after they became the first college team to run the "No-Huddle Offense". Taylor threw for 850 yards against Tennessee in '81 & '82, and Vandy scored 62 points---plus Vanderbilt upset the Vols in 1982. 
    Watson told me this week that Bear Bryant helped get him every job along the way. And how about this story: recently one of his Tennessee Tech players came into his office and saw a photo hanging on the way of Coach Brown and Coach Bryant. The kid asked who that other man was. Didn't know who Bear Bryant was.
    While Watson's brother runs the show at Texas, he has settled back home in Cookeville, where his Mom and other brother live. This is his last stop on the coaching tour and he's loving doing it at home, where he can see his Mother every day. Tennessee Tech is lucky to have him. Quarterback's like Whit Taylor were lucky to play for him.