OT: Source: Mack Brown Stepping Down (EDIT: Perhaps Not Happening)

Submitted by michchi85 on

High-level sources tell http://t.co/Pb827xg41z Mack Brown will step down as coach at Texas after 16 years.

— Chip Brown (@ChipBrownOB) December 10, 2013
 
 

MOD EDIT (LSA) - apparently, there is now this (which doesn't negate the potential for Brown leaving somehow, willingly or not)

RT @BFeldmanCBS: #Texas source tells CBS "Mack (Brown) hasn't had any meeting & has not told anyone he's stepping down."

— CBSSports.com (@CBSSports) December 10, 2013

1464

December 10th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^

Man am I rooting for Saban to be out of Bama.  Do we turn anyone at that point?  Any Texas guys we were looking at?  Let the premature speculation begin...

boliver46

December 10th, 2013 at 3:10 PM ^

If anything - this would solidify existing committed recruits...put concrete stamps on recruits waffling on Texas, AND bring along some of his 'Bama recruits - I hear Texas has a GREAT engineering program.

/Hand'd

WolvinLA2

December 10th, 2013 at 3:32 PM ^

It's also possible that Saban gets there and decides he doesn't want certain kids, because he wants to fill those spots with other kids (I imagine some of the top Bama kids would follow him, or kids from TX who passed on the Mack Brown longhorns but want in on the Saban team).

So it's entirely possible certain UT commits would become in-play.

backslash321

December 10th, 2013 at 11:48 PM ^

Saban, he gone. If not to Texas, then maybe to the Washington Bravehearts but I think that is Jon Gruden's job to turn down first. Muschamp is out at Florida. They might be waiting on Franklin from Vandy. Narduzzi will get either the UConn or the soon to be vacant Vandy job. Boise has a vacancy that Dennis Erickson can probably fill.

This is all speculation but doesn't it make sence? Also, it is so much more fun to speculate about other teams' uncertainty. Hand, McDowell and Ballage....let's complete this class and focus on a B1G title and a trip to the playoff. Word to engineering majors, 6'2" running backs putting up 4.3 forties and killer DE who can play in three different spots. Oh let's do this.

goblue16

December 10th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^

Stepping down........right. They probably told him to get out to save him the embarassment of firing him. Now they can build a statue of him and tell everyone look he was our winningest coach and he retired on his own. What a load of shit!

RagingBean

December 10th, 2013 at 2:49 PM ^

Lloyd Carr absolutely and positively retired on his own terms. It was an open secret that he was going to do so, but Bill Martin was SURPRISED when Carr broke the news to him after The Game in 2007. If we on Mgoblog cannot even get that right....cripes.

superstringer

December 10th, 2013 at 2:58 PM ^

That event (Carr stepping down) was what made me a devotee of Our Fearless Leader (aka the Man with the Beard).  Brian called it a week before it happened, about the Mon-Tues of The Game that year -- that on the Monday following the game, Carr would step down.  And that's exactly how it went down.  Brian said he had a boy in the office (so to speak), the proverbial unnamed sources.

So it wasn't merely an "open secret," it was actually PUBLIC.

03 Blue 07

December 10th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^

Yes, same. I can't believe I'd forgotten that, but that was (IMO) a watershed moment for the blog. I remember feeling almost proud that Brian was right, since I'd been reading the blog for awhile and telling fellow M fans that they needed to be reading it regularly. 

goblue16

December 10th, 2013 at 2:32 PM ^

Why is everyone on this board obssesed with Saban. Who cares? He plays in the SEC and he wont play for a national championship this season. we dont play against them and his coaching doesnt affect Michigan. How bout we hope they offer Dantonio or Narduzzi

maizenbluenc

December 10th, 2013 at 5:28 PM ^

The young man committed to Alabama because he could study engineering there and play championship football. Alabama happens to be listed in USNWR as a A+ school for B students.

It's not that Alabama sold him on their engineering program being better than our engineering program: just better than the other degree program Michigan was steering him to. (Personally, I would rather my son study engineering if I were his father.)

The time committed to playing football would make it very hard to compete with other engineering students at Michigan. We'll see if he really majors in engineering, but just maybe Alabama was the better choice for someone who wanted to be competitive in both an engineering degree program and one of the top D1 football programs.

The bigger issue is the competitive disadvantage this puts us at, in the very place we thought we had a competitive advantage. Alabama found a way to work around our "Global Degree" selling point. We lost.

Wish he went Blue, but we cannot fault the guy for making a reasonable choice.

LSAClassOf2000

December 10th, 2013 at 2:33 PM ^

Well, before this recent turn in the Mack Brown saga took place, the Dallas Morning News was hard at it, as you might expect - (LINK).

Nothing about this as it was written earlier, but interesting stuff in the article, particularly how Brown's fate might be partially tied the employment prospects of Bill Powers, the UT President, as Powers found himself and his future an agenda item at a Board Of Regents meeting supposedly. 

They did ask an intriguing question that might get some discussion going here:

"If Saban goes off the board, is there a no-brainer replacement for Brown who would be realistic, attainable and an upgrade?"

Erik_in_Dayton

December 10th, 2013 at 2:38 PM ^

The problem with firing Coach X (and sometimes I want him fired - don't get me wrong) is that you almost never have a sure thing waiting around.  Meyer to OSU was a fluke.  Charlie Strong seems like the surest thing out there, but even then you never know how a school's/state's alums and high school coaches will take to a guy. 

FabFiver5

December 10th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^

These are the guys they'll choose from:

  • Nick Saban (Obviously they'd love to have him. Friend in Bama athletic dept told me Bama will pay him whatever he wants, so money isn't an issue. Saban will leave if he wants a new challenge...personally, I don't think UT is a challenge)
  • Art Briles (Knows the state of Texas. Can they get him to flip? Is he too old? Imagine the talent on the field when he can recruit to Austin)
  • Kevin Sumlin (Knows the state of Texas. My feeling is they'd love to have him, but not sure if they can flip him from A&M. Manziel heading to NFL will help the cause)
  • James Franklin (One of the best young coaches in America. Probably not proven enough for Texas yet.)
  • David Shaw (Probably top 5 coach in America, can recruit, can placate to boosters and will bring a toughness that UT has lacked the past few years)
  • Will Muschamp (Will not get the job, but may get an interview based on previous deal to be coach-in-waiting under Mack)
  • Mike Gundy (Knows the Texas/Oklahoma recruiting ground and is young enough to be around for a long time. Can't win the big game though)
  • Kirby Smart (Bama assistant that is hailed as a coaching prodigy. Probably needs to have a smaller job to prove himself first)
  • Kliff Kingsbury (UT may take a run at him just to try to beat others to him. Yes he's young and yes he's still unproven, but you can tell the guy will be a hell of a coach. IMO, despite being a magnet for recruits, not yet ready for big-time.)

Felix.M.Blue

December 10th, 2013 at 4:24 PM ^

Washington is going to go after RG3's ole ball coach @ Baylor

Tex A&M coach still hasn't signed his contract extention, something is holding that up

Texans job is open

Texas and Mack Brown has been kicking around the idea of him leaving for a few years now. Muschamp was named HC in waiting down there then they re-thought that idea. They have been a mess for a while down there.