NCAA Football Rumors: When Will Texas Longhorns Fire Mack Brown?

[Laramie]

Rumors in Austin are running wild about the future of Mack Brown. Here was a marque coach who had a 'coach in waiting replacement' who couldn't wait on Mack to stack his legacy with potential national championship trophies and for Mack to ride the waves to the AD's office. This former Sooner staff coach was seen as a potential living legend.

Did Mack's greed and 'super ego' led to his fall off the turnip wagon?

"One has to wonder just how much Brown has left, at least in regards to his time in Austin. Looking at the rest of the Longhorns’ schedule, one can only assume that Texas will drop at least three or four more games. If they finish around the .500 mark, it is unlikely that Brown will return to Texas in 2014."

NCAA Football Rumors: When Will Texas Longhorns Fire Mack Brown? | Boston Super Blog

Lou Holtz comes to Mack Brown's defense.

"ESPN's College Football Live ran a mock trial on whether the Texas Longhorns should fire Mack Brown. Rece Davis was the judge, while Mark May argued for firing Brown and Holtz argued against firing. What started out as a light-hearted segment ended with Holtz seriously and passionately defending Mack Brown, then knocking the podium over and walking off the set."

http://http://www.dallasnews.com/spo...on-coaches.ece

Let us hope that Mack Brown survives this latest 'installment' attacking his coaching credentials (after Red River Shootout); give the OU Sooners a few more years of hooking those horns as Mack's legacy sinks into the quicksand pit of high profile college coaches who have been put out to pasture.

What are your thoughts about Longhorn coaching situation?

[mugofbeer]

Unfortunately, if OU beats TX in Dallas, that will likely be the final "nail."

[SoonerDave]

From what I've read on Horn boards over the last few days, the staff is practically in insurrection, down to shouting matches and point-counterpoint dares to fire insubordinate staff. A "players only" meeting following the BYU game drew only a fraction of the team.

The season apparently started fraying early, as it was expected that Brown would not retain Manny Diaz going into 2013. Some staffers opted to remain under a new DC, only to find out at the beginning of the year Diaz would be retained. Duane Akina, one assistant, was rumored to be infuriated, because he wanted no part of a Diaz-directed defense, to say nothing of the impracticality of trying to change defensive schemes in the middle of the season. Now, some coaches are in official lame-duck mode, some are trying to make the best of what's left, and most are aware that Deloss Dodds (who apparently has some significant health issues) has reportedly already submitted his "retirement" effective at the end of the year. And his departure will supposedly end the influence of the two boosters prime in influencing Dodds to keep Brown as coach.

Now, mind you, most of this is rumor and conjecture drawn from a variety of boards, so take all that for what it's worth - but they do tend to have a common "ring" to them - Mack's lost his staff, and the staff has all-but lost the players. Supposedly, Mack can hold his job only if he wins out, and not even the most ardent Horn fans are holding any realistic hope for that.

K-State goes in to the Texas game this week with, if memory serve, a five-game (maybe six?) win streak. This is a weak K-State team by those standards, but a win over Texas this week would be like pouring water on a grease fire. Some big money types have already communicated to relevant "brass" that they're not even bothering with OU-Texas this year; some allegedly have already put out "feelers" to Nick Saban at Bama.

Horrible talent evaluation, too much coach-by-clapping, many folks even up here suspected a big part of Texas' problem was Mack, even to suggest that perhaps he won his 2005 title with Vince Young in spite of himself. Who knows. The consensus, however, is that Mack's waited too long to exit the scene himself, and the bonfire from Austin is only beginning.

[bluedogok]

Since Dodds is set to retire, I guess both he and Mack have finally been given their marching orders from Red and Joe. Mack will probably announce he is stepping down as head coach and will move into the athletic department, more than likely in some sort of media capacity, he will not be the new AD. There are too many business minded people and the UT Athletic Department is a big business, I think they try to find a Joe Castiglione type of AD instead of a former coach. The big names you hear bandied about replacing Mack are going to have a hard time filling the job since the UT head coach has to be more politician than coach, he needs to be a CEO coach who hires great assistants.

Coach Boom would have been more of a failure at UT than he has been at Florida, him jumping ship was the best thing for both of them.

[Laramie]

Since Dodds is set to retire, I guess both he and Mack have finally been given their marching orders from Red and Joe. Mack will probably announce he is stepping down as head coach and will move into the athletic department, more than likely in some sort of media capacity, he will not be the new AD. There are too many business minded people and the UT Athletic Department is a big business, I think they try to find a Joe Castiglione type of AD instead of a former coach. The big names you hear bandied about replacing Mack are going to have a hard time filling the job since the UT head coach has to be more politician than coach, he needs to be a CEO coach who hires great assistants.

Coach Boom would have been more of a failure at UT than he has been at Florida, him jumping ship was the best thing for both of them.

Looks as though Mack Brown overplayed his hand. He should have put himself in position to replace Dobbs and turn the rings over to Will Muschamp; instead, his eagerness to stay on led to Muschamp's departure. What a possible sad fate for Mack Brown; his persistence eventually catapulted him into this fisaco.

“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”--Benjamin Franklin.

[Just the facts]

I hope Mack stay head coach at UT forever. As for Muschamp, he probably won't be at Florida for long either. Maybe Muschamp should get an apartment in Austin just in case.

[SoonerDave]

I hope Mack stay head coach at UT forever. As for Muschamp, he probably won't be at Florida for long either. Maybe Muschamp should get an apartment in Austin just in case.

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

[Just the facts]

At least we have the Longhorn Network to broadcast the collapse nationwide so we won't miss anything. You are right about Texas having everything in their favor and coming up dry. Even their last NC came on a 4th down play with just a few seconds left in the game. They have done less with more than any team in college football history.

[soonerguru]

At least we have the Longhorn Network to broadcast the collapse nationwide so we won't miss anything. You are right about Texas having everything in their favor and coming up dry. Even their last NC came on a 4th down play with just a few seconds left in the game. They have done less with more than any team in college football history.

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

[soonerguru]

My guess is that if Texas is doing it right, they will hire Kirby Smart, DC at Alabama. He would be an incredible hire and would get their defense shaped up in a hurry (and he's a good recruiter).

However, Texas seems to think they have to hire someone with head coaching experience, so they'll probably make a bad hire.

[soonerguru]

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

That "something" was a 5-7 disaster of a season. Mack wanted to go out on a "high note," and he had "earned" the right to rebuild the ship before taking his final voyage. EGO.

As for Saban, he probably wouldn't be up to all the political glad-handing that is a requirement of the job in Austin. He wants to be left the F alone to coach and recruit. He will, however, flirt a little bit to get a raise.

[kelroy55]

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

or wants it

[adaniel]

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

[ou48A]

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

Soonerdave you are 100% correct about the various factions that have divided the football program at UT.
This has gone on for 2 and now 3 generations... It's been wealthy family’s fighting each other for influence. Any head coach at UT must have the skills necessary to over come it. To Macks credit he did for awhile....He had them all on board and united. Only Royal had ever done it before to any great degree.

Texas lacks no football resource except for the right leadership that would need the guts to stop the feuds....Many look at the resources that Texas has and think that its the best head coaching job in football.... but because of the infighting its actually been a very difficult job much of the time.

[BoulderSooner]

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

most people that have cox in Oklahoma do

[ou48A]

If you have ever wanted to go to the OU-Texas game and couldn’t get tickets...... this is your year.
Texas fans are starting to unload their tickets and for reasonable prices.

[Laramie]

If you have ever wanted to go to the OU-Texas game and couldn’t get tickets...... this is your year.
Texas fans are starting to unload their tickets and for reasonable prices.

Dallas' West End pregame celebration will look like a rawhide--tanned and hung out to dry.

This could be the year that you see a lot of Sooner red with a tsunami flow into the Texas horse-U-shoe section and a sprinkling of empty seats after half time.

The last time I got tickets to an OU-Texas game we gave them a 65-13 beat down!

Remember me and a friend leaving the Cotton Bowl (2003) and OU fans were chanting in unison; Texas fans were actually crying and how well I remember a young lady saying, "I hate Oklahoma." I didn't bite my tongue either and quickly shouted a reply, "We love Texas!"

This year could be painful for the Longhorn Nation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKwwcCpa2Ag

[redrunner]

University of Texas regent talked to agent for Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban - ESPN

The Associated Press has learned that a University of Texas regent and a former regent spoke with Alabama coach Nick Saban's agent about Saban coaching the Longhorns if Mack Brown retired.

[soonerguru]

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

It is crap. We need to be making our exit plans now.

[soonerguru]

University of Texas regent talked to agent for Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban - ESPN

Wow. This story is cray cray. Should be retitled: "How to scare away potential new coaching hires." All the dirty laundry and fratricide on display to the whole world before they've conducted a single interview, topped off with UT's biggest donor (and Brown's lawyer) threatening to sue people. Beautiful. What a dysfunctional situation.

[Jersey Boss]

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

Iowa State losing to Northern Iowa, Kansas State losing to North Dakota State as well as Texas losing to BYU clearly shows the BIG 12 is crap.

[Jersey Boss]

It is crap. We need to be making our exit plans now.

As long as it is not a move to PAC 12, or whatever they are.

[Spartan]

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

For some bizarre reason I get it here in Ohio. I have enjoyed watching it immensely of late, and it's always pure comic gold.

It is very, very well produced...women's vball re-runs in between segments w Mack pleading/graveling for people to still care, including several at his posh residence along some beautiful lake in Austin. My favorite are the segments where current Horns players are forced to listen to an inspirational message from former players.

Actually I lied, my favorite part is whenever Mack talks about still winning the Big 12, as if they could even win a game in the Big 12..

He apparently has a camera crew living w him like Big Brother or something, which would be hilarious if it weren't sad. I think he tried blaming 2011 on the cameras everywhere, he'll prob fall back on that in short order.

Mack will prob stick around just to annoy Nick Saban...my guess

[zookeeper]

Wow. This story is cray cray. Should be retitled: "How to scare away potential new coaching hires." All the dirty laundry and fratricide on display to the whole world before they've conducted a single interview, topped off with UT's biggest donor (and Brown's lawyer) threatening to sue people. Beautiful. What a dysfunctional situation.

Yeah, well, I hear you, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Our beloved Sooners have had their share of drama over the years. Entire books have been written about the dysfunction of Sooner football in our past. It's all a racket anyway. It damn sure isn't what it once was with true student athletes.

[Laramie]

...K-State goes in to the Texas game this week with, if memory serve, a five-game (maybe six?) win streak. This is a weak K-State team by those standards, but a win over Texas this week would be like pouring water on a grease fire. Some big money types have already communicated to relevant "brass" that they're not even bothering with OU-Texas this year; some allegedly have already put out "feelers" to Nick Saban at Bama.

Horrible talent evaluation, too much coach-by-clapping, many folks even up here suspected a big part of Texas' problem was Mack, even to suggest that perhaps he won his 2005 title with Vince Young in spite of himself. Who knows. The consensus, however, is that Mack's waited too long to exit the scene himself, and the bonfire from Austin is only beginning.

http://vonbeau.com/images/uploads/at...lry-tshirt.jpg

As someone mentioned in an earlier post that Saban will nibble on the bait just to get Bama' to up the ante in keeping him there longer.

Mack did sit on the pot too long and he has stunk up the room and there's no spray to clear the air. He may put a muffler on the noise from the sounds of this bad case of diarrhea with a win against Kansas State; if Texas gets another beat-down from Oklahoma--Mack 'wake services' will be held following the game.

Big Tex has seen enough: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/i...hzL3dMFHK9pFT0