Why Won’t Texas Just Fire Mack Brown?
Someone’s gotta just pull off the damn bandaid already!
The Mack Brown saga in Texas has been going on for months now. With the Longhorns football program having experienced a serious decline over the last four years, Brown began this season the same way he ended it: On the hot seat.
This Texas team has been good for at least four losses a year dating back to 2009, some more explainable than others. The prevailing sentiment has been that Brown would’ve needed to cut down on losses and/or deliver a Big 12 Championship to have a realistic shot at keeping his job.
He certainly didn’t do that in 2013. After the Longhorns were blown out by BYU and Ole Miss in the second and third games of the season, the conversation about Brown completely changed. From that point on it was no longer a matter of if he’d be fired, but when.Â
Obviously the university had enough esteem for Brown to let him finish out the year, rather than making it a spectacle by firing him mid-season. But there seems to be absolutely no question he’s finished in Austin—so why is he still calling the shots?
Since Monday there has been a new report about Brown’s supposedly imminent resignation coming from somewhere every few hours or so. Which is interesting, given that Brown doesn’t seem particularly interested in going anywhere.
“My situation has not changed. I have the best president in the country in Bill Powers. He’s done a tremendous job. We’ve lost an iconic athletic director in DeLoss Dodds. He’s been my boss for 16 years. We hired what I think is a great athletic director in Steve Patterson.
Any time the athletic director changes, it changes the game. I will sit down and talk to him and Bill and discuss the direction we’re going. I’m looking forward to my meeting with Bill and Steve and then move forward.”
So what, exactly, is going on here? If the widespread reports are to be believed, Brown is on his way out. Which means he’s either in the dark about his current situation or simply in denial. Either way, it’s not good.
Perhaps this has all been orchestrated by the university to help Brown preserve his dignity, by allowing him to resign. If that’s the case, well then they failed. There is nothing dignified about this situation—it’s demeaning and just generally unpleasant for all parties involved.
Thanks to The Big Lead for this artistic rendering of Nick Saban’s future.
It’s no secret that Texas is desperate to make a play for Alabama coach Nick Saban, who refuses to talk to them until the deed is done. Ya know…out of respect for Mack Brown. Always the sweetheart, suddenly softie Saban is not gonna move in on another man’s job until that other man is good and fired.
So Texas is in limbo. Mack Brown is in limbo. Alabama is in limbo. Nick Saban is in limbo. All the Longhorn players are in limbo. Recruiting is in limbo. And for what? Because the university is trying to appease some boosters with their humane treatment of Brown’s dismissal?
Ridiculous. Man up, Texas! If you don’t want Mack Brown as the head coach of your football program anymore, that’s fine. All you have to do is fire him.
