Is Will Muschamp Leaving Texas Mack Brown's Fault?
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Dec 12, 2010 1:36 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns Football
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PrintOne of the early memes emerging from Saturday night's announcement that Will Muschamp is now Florida's head coach and the former defensive coordinator and HCIW at Texas is casting blame on the decision to name Muschamp as the next Longhorn head coach.
The argument here is that the arrangement served its purpose by keeping Coach Boom in Austin for two years longer than expected and the work of his defense was a major reason why Texas played in the Rose Bowl for the national championship, an evening that seems light years away from the current reality. It was meant to retain Muschamp as defensive coordinator and it served that purpose well.
When re-evaluating the decision of the Texas administration to attempt to keep Muschamp a Longhorn, it seems to make more sense to say that there was an unintended consequence at the end of it. There wasn't a fall-back plan to prepare for the possibility of Muschamp leaving.
Sure, there were scares, but Texas fans seemed to let down their guard during the season when the only two seemingly likely destinations for Muschamp -- Georgia and LSU -- had strong enough seasons to keep their respective coaches off the hot seat. Clearly, Mack Brown and the administration felt the same way. The danger of Muschamp leaving was an obscure threat off in the distance that never even materialized.
Instead of blaming Brown for the original decision, a comment from Kirk Bohls revealed that things weren't entirely rosy between the Texas head coach and Muschamp:
At least one source told me Brown had decided in the offseason to step down at the end of the 2010 season, but he changed his mind after his first losing season at Texas, worried that his legacy had been tarnished.
Muschamp was annoyed by the decision, sources close to the football program have said, and chose to leave what he thought was promised him...
Over at Barking Carnival, Eyes has already weighed in with his opinion of where the blame should fall -- squarely on the shoulders of Mack Brown, blaming his ego for not letting him retire after the national championship game, for meddling with the offense and wasting the entire off-season, for not retiring after this season, and for not believing that a school could come and steal Muschamp. If you want to read an evisceration of Mack Brown, that's certainly the place to go.
And it's a bevy of accusations to be sure. The comment from Bohls, though, is the major revelation -- despite some discussion about friction on Recruitocosm, that speculation centered on whether or not Muschamp was being allowed some input on the new coaching hires, not whether he was having arguments with Brown about a succession timetable. If true, the problems were deeper than originally thought by even the great skeptics, as it now sounds like Brown's ego may have truly gotten in the way after this season and kept Muschamp from being the next Texas head coach.
In that light, who can blame Muschamp for taking one of the best jobs in the country?
But while Texas fans mourn the loss of Coach Boom and seek top play the blame game, they also have to ask themselves if Mack Brown is to blame for Muschamp leaving.
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Just a question I have for you guys
Is there any concern that Mack, who’s been nearing retirement, has the energy to “reload, rebuild, whatever you prefer” after a 5-7 season, especially without Muschamp?
I think it entirely depends on who he ends up hiring for the coordinator slots
And the attitude of the players, too. Someone like Major staying would help a lot.
If that is a veiled criticism about me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it.
But isn't he going to be the OC at Florida?
by Joey Kaufman on Dec 12, 2010 1:49 PM CST up reply actions
It has been reported both ways
but the latest says that he is staying.
"I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field."
-Walter Payton
there have been conflicting reports
some reliable sources are saying he’s staying at Texas, some are saying he’s gone. Since neither Major nor the UT athletic dept have confirmed or denied, my personal opinion is that they’re negotiating with Major to try to get him to stay.
If that is a veiled criticism about me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it.
Well
Wouldn’t he want to become the Texas OC and possibly become the new HCIW. If they could get him on staff as OC and possibly Randy Shannon as DC, program should be fine.
by Joey Kaufman on Dec 12, 2010 1:59 PM CST up reply actions
That's what I tend to think as well
although I am a bit hesitant about Major’s lack of experience.
If that is a veiled criticism about me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it.
The way I see it
He’s got roots here, a sharp mind, energetic, recruits well, turned Rice’s offense around… if he needs the OC position or he’s out, give it to him. Unless Mack is going to start making big hires (and the typical response to that is that Mack likes to keep things safe), then we need to keep Applewhite here, even if giving him some extra responsibility on gameday is a slight risk.
If you're so sure of what it ain't, how about telling us what it am!
Personally
I hope there’s never another HCIW. It’s a stupid and apparently meaningless title.
Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis.
by zamm on Dec 12, 2010 2:02 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I'm very concerned that Texas
is staring straight into the abyss. I am so afraid of a return to the 1984-1997 doldrums.
Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis.
Mack just doesn't seem to me like the guy who can keep that from happening.
If he was, he would have kept 2010 from happening.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 1:49 PM CST up reply actions
Well, the only thing to go on
is that he pulled us out of the abyss in 1998. That was a long, long, time ago, but that is (was?) his specialty.
Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis.
and Bob Stoops let
2005 and 2009 happen…yeah, I have no confidence in him righting the ship after that…oh wait he went to a championship game in 2008 and is in a BCS bowl game this yr…wtf…it’s one yr of housecleaning, that’s all
by L.A. Horn on Dec 12, 2010 3:00 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Way different circumstances
2005 was a down year for OU. 2009 their Heisman winning QB got hurt, along with a ton of other stars. They also never had a losing record…very different.
and Urban Meyer couldn't hold on...
if you want to make comparisons, that is. i don’t like the idea that Mack was ready to walk out the door but now is forced into hard labor to save the foundation. this situation is unique to Mack himself. he’s capable, but he has made mistakes. will they repeat?
"you can destroy a man, but you cannot defeat him." - e.h.
by drankthewine on Dec 13, 2010 9:24 AM CST up reply actions
How can you stare INTO the abyss...
…when you are IN the abyss??
For a few precious moments.....I am back in Old Texas, under a high sky, where all things are again possible and the wind blows free - Larry L. King
How can you NOT stare into the abyss
when you’re in the abyss
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 3:57 PM CST up reply actions
If you're in it, you can only look up.
For a few precious moments.....I am back in Old Texas, under a high sky, where all things are again possible and the wind blows free - Larry L. King
Hell yeah, it's his fault, GBR,
and Hell, yeah, there is concern, Joey Kaufman.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
For completely cathartic reasons...
Fire Greg Davis!!!
If you're so sure of what it ain't, how about telling us what it am!
That was a great thread. Good times.
Seems like a million years ago.
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 3:58 PM CST up reply actions
This makes sense.
The whole idea of there wasn’t a timetable or that Brown decided against the timetable that he originally laid out when Muschamp took the HCIW designation…I don’t blame Muschamp, either.
What we have here is a failure to execute.
Florida
No one is really to blame. A great position got open, which is better than HCIW in Austin, and he accepted. Mack is better than Muschamp anyways.
On a related note, none of the gator fans that I know are happy with this hire. They all think they could do better. If Muschamp hires Major as OC, the gator nation will be pissed.
In Mack Brown We Trust!
that's exactly why I'll be surprised if Major left
Politically, hiring an OC with such a short resume when the fanbase is already a less than thrilled by your hire (due to lack of experience) is very risky – especially since offense was the main source of UF’s version of nightmare 2010. Seems like the way to go for Muschamp is to hire an established and known commodity at OC
"But tonight the Superbowl belongs to the City of New Orleans" - Roger Goodell 2/7/2010
how about we stop treating WM
like the best thing since sliced bread. Co-ordinators come and go…have you forgoten we won a championship with Chizik and who hired him? The imporant part is that Mack no longer has anyone looking over his shoulder…and he is not retiring. How about we have faith in what a CEO (Mack) does best bring in new personel and right the ship.
A couple of voices of reason
Thanks, LAH and Zamm . . . You could take any of a half-dozen approaches as to why Will Muschamp left Texas to take the Florida job. To me, it’s real simple.
If you’re HCIW at Texas, you’ve got a humongously large insurance policy. If you’re WM, you think, “This is one of the best jobs in the country. It’s mine if I’m patient. Now, if the RIGHT job shows up before Mack Brown retires . . .”
That RIGHT job probably consists of a short list of schools, including Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, maybe Notre Dame, maybe Southern Cal . . . and Florida.
If you were Coach Boom, would you turn down Florida RIGHT NOW for Texas in 1, or 2, or 3, or possibly more, years?
There’s no conspiracy here, no “I thought Mack was going to retire, and when he didn’t I’m taking my football and going somewhere else.”
I don’t blame UT for making the HCIW offer. I don’t blame Mack (if this is the case) for not hiring/interviewing the people his HCIW wanted. And I don’t blame Muschamp for leaving. Hell, Florida and UT might be the two best jobs in the country right now (along with Alabama). Why wait out Mack Brown when Urban Meyer made the decision easy?
yes, this.....
…the guy brought us back from shit. you know its not just being a great X and Os guy that equates to great HC. mack has so many intangibles that others dont. his biggest thing was putting together the pieces with HS coaches and being the charming captivating personality he is to get the recruits. can muschamp do all this? maybe, has he done so, no. mack has been around. step off the ledge. he has fixed up really fucked up programs before, and he will fix this one or leave very quickly.
Wait a year before you start screaming. first see what the guy does, then criticize him or ask him to leave….
by vanterminatorhorn on Dec 12, 2010 3:31 PM CST up reply actions
hopeful thinking
Mack has hired bad DC’s before and could do so again, meanwhile he has employed a less than elite OC for the duration of his time here.
Will was the best thing since Mack himself and our best bet at being a team that would contend for championships in the ought-teens.
How long is Mack staying around? How do we pull in top coordinators knowing that everything could be up in the air in a year or 2 when Mack is gone. We would be better off if Mack retired and we could throw all our resources into a long term solution new HC.
19 days left in this Year of The Suck,,
and I will be oh so happy to ring this one OUT. 2011 just simply must be better. It has to be. I am going to play my daily delusion card and believe that 2011 is going to be all roses for my Horns and if it isn’t ,,well,,then hopefully the Mayans have it right and we won’t have to worry about it all for much longer.
There is not a situation or individual that cannot be improved by the addition of chocolate.
thank you
thank you Vince Freaking Young for enabling this fool for so long.
He will always be the Coach who recruited 5 star talent and coached them to a 2-3 star level. Go away mack. just go away.
"what I have learned in 11 years in the sports business is that the dumbest guys in the room are always the media guys." - mark cuban
I nominate this for worst post of the year.
If that is a veiled criticism about me, I won't hear it and I won't respond to it.
by LonghornEm on Dec 12, 2010 2:20 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
2nd
For a few precious moments.....I am back in Old Texas, under a high sky, where all things are again possible and the wind blows free - Larry L. King
this fool...
had the longest active 10 win streak… why am I bothering with anything logical to a post like this.
How do you have such a desirebale log-in?
Were you one of the first 10 people to sign up?
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 4:02 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
Interesting topic but ultimately a moot point....
Reality is that Boom is gone, taking one of the best jobs in the sport. Only way he stays is if Mack steps down. That does not seem to have been in the cards. Given a choice between Mack, with all his faults plus one of the better track records in the game as HC, or WM, with a ton of promise but zero track record as HC, I have to choose Mack. Time will tell.
The whole thing about Mack’s ego is a little silly. This just in, EVERYONE at that level has a pretty healthy ego. I get that Eyes is saying Mack let his get the better of his judgement.
Good for Muschamp and good for Texas
After this abortion of a season, new blood all the way around is a good thing. As long as Mack goes and gets the best coaches money can buy, I’m sure all the recruits will stay and this season will be just a bad memory. I still can’t figure out why Florida went for Muschamp, I guess they want teams running up the middle on them as well (sorry, cheap shot). He would have been a fool not to take the Florida job, so Mack gets no blame. Besides, Mack is a great coach and him staying longer makes me happy.
Yes and No
Yes, Will got tired of waiting on the promise…so he said take this job and shove it.
No, if Mack hadn’t make him coach in waiting he probably would have left one or two years ago.
The real issue is the timing…while Mack is doing a little housecleaning, Will up and leaves, and may take Major and other coaches with him. Kennedy is gonna leave, the weight coach is thinking about leaving. Bottom line is in a week or two Mack may be the only one left in Austin. Now we have to reload on coaches as well as rebuild the team.
Next year looks bleak.
Don't take it so hard.
Every single coordinator in the country would have taken that job.
Do you know where you're at and who I am?
Really Interested in Florida State opinion
How similar is our situation to FSU circa 2002? Maybe PB or GOBR can interview their FSU counterparts for insight into the destruction of a legacy (and how it might be avoided)?
Entirely Disagree With Preposition
Assigning “fault” for an OC taking a HC job is insanity. Are we really that fragile a program and that afraid of facing the other 120 FBS teams out there in recruiting, hiring assistant coaches and fielding a team without some demi-god with the initials WM waiting in the wings to lead Texas?
Really?
Y’all need to get a hold of your collective selves and get over it! I agree that the HCIW idea was fatally flawed beyond two seasons. No doubt it contributed to the lack of a cohesive locker room that gave us a heretofore inconceivable 5-7 season.
We played with that fire to our benefit in 2009 and can rightfully ask ourselves if it was worth it. But it’s now clear the two could not coexist another year without the same dysfunctional results. It’s time to move on and get back to Texas standards; they were high before WM and they’ll be high after him.
Mack has the most important and heavily scrutinized decisions of his career ahead: new OC & DC. I, for one, have more faith in him righting the ship and getting us back to elite than I did WM. And I think the Gator nation would rather have seen them steal MB from us than WM. MB’s gotten it done at that level. There’s hope that WM can. That’s a distinction with a difference.
Especially after the 2010 campaign were still smarting from, WM’s performance was sub-par. When we all knew going into the year the team needed to rely on his side of the ball more than any season in memory he didn’t get it done. His guys repeatedly quit on the team when the young, inexperienced offense inevitably put them in tight spots. And they made the same mistakes in week 12 as they did in week 1, allowing gut-busting runs up the middle over and over and over again!
It’s not my intent to rip WM, he was a good DC, but it is my intent to highlight just how ridiculous many Horns fans are being by shouting all the alarmist statements they are about what WM’s departure means to the program. In fact, the entire exercise of assigning “fault” is counter-productive as we close in on signing day.
Make no mistake, MB needs to make great hires now, and after a 5-7 season he already was going to be on a short leash with fan support and confidence diminished. But the truth of the matter is by having the whole HCIW thing disappear we’re better suited to get back on top than we were 2 days ago. And I’d rather have MB’s experience at the helm right now than WM’s unrealized and truly unknown potential. Ask 100 UF fans their choice, and my friends, they’d rather have our guy!
Hook ’em Horns, Til Gabriel Blows His Horn}-
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 3:06 PM CST via mobile reply actions 3 recs
I like your strong opinion
But I don’t agree at all that any UF fans would want Mack. He doesn’t gel with the SEC mindset and he’s too old to start over at a new place. I personally think he’s burned out, like a professional poker player that plays 1-2 and 2-5 every day for 14 hours to make a living. Eventually you just start getting sick of it and have to take a break until you can get your desire back. Not sure how Mack is going to do that—big time football coach is a year-long job if you’re doing it correctly.
In summation, I can’t see any Florida fans wanting a guy who just went 5-7.
by GoHornsGo90 on Dec 12, 2010 3:31 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Well, I'm From Florida Originally...
And I hang out with the local Gator club to watch games when Texas isn’t playing, have a LOT of UF friends…and their fan blogs aren’t exactly “chomping” at the bit over the hire…but it would be interesting to see the results of a poll on their SB nation fan page.
Peter, whad’ya think about doin one of your patented visits with enemy chats/polls?
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 3:56 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Let them know if they aren't satisfied, I'm sure we can work out a good return policy
If you're so sure of what it ain't, how about telling us what it am!
by circa1015 on Dec 12, 2010 4:01 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
Oh I believe they aren't happy with Will
I just think they would riot if they theoretically brought in Mack.
And I'm Not a MB Always Fan
I was firemackbrown.com’er for years. But after 04-09 run I’m fine with hanging with him another season or more, let’s see what he’s got left.
The more that comes out the more likely the HCIW thing was poison this year. With that out of the way now I’ll be surprised if next year isn’t back to 10 wins – depending on hires.
And with as little as WM showed me this season I’ll be surprised if UF has as good a record as UT next year!
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 4:54 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
What if the question were rephrased?
Forget the phrasing “did Mack force Will to leave,” whatever the nuances of that argument may be.
Instead think of it this way: If it turns out that Mack created a rift with Muschamp (unfulfilled promises, stubbornness, arrogance, etc.), and the way things then play out is that Muschamp goes on to great , aggressive success at Florida, and Mack retires in the next year or two with the program in disarray, would you then concede, in light of those events unfolding in that precise manner, that Mack would be most responsible for the collapse of the program?
I ask not because I think any of this will happen. I’m just skeptical regarding forcefully loyal/optimistic, opinionated bravado in these kinds of circumstances.
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 4:12 PM CST up reply actions
Or, the inverse to your posit
We all know how close Muschamp was to the players, right? What if Will used that to his advantage by influencing a locker room rift to set the stage for dissension? And, what if Will further leveraged this dissension to influence a possibly gullible Major Applewhite to endorse his concerns with the team direction?
There are myriad ways to shape the conversation or phrase the nuance of the argument to fit many outcomes.
The bottom line is pretty simple. A major job opened up. That university poached our defensive coordinator for a sizeable increase in salary, a move back to home roots, and an opportunity to begin to build the Muschamp legacy. We could have paid Muschamp $3M per year and he still would have left.
Purple pigs.....
…..laden with lipstick are flying in Houston.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
For Real!
What’s with the visceral animus towards MB in favor of WM? I mean, if WM’s D was lights out this year and the rest of the team was holding him back I’d be first to lead the anti-MB chorus. But WM’s performance was pretty lousy, too.
There was apparently a rift in the locker room. And while you typically hold the HC accountable for that if you have an asst who’s own ambition is a big part of it you do what MB does and be glad the asst goes.
And if WM was that impetuous that he helped foment the issue then he’s got an immaturity I’m glad we don’t have to deal with as he grows up. To be a good leader you have to know how to follow, and if his britches got too big he’ll be in for a big surprise when he has to lead men with egos as big as his. I liked WM prior years, but he became his own worst enemy this year and put himself over the team. Bye!
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 5:09 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Whoa
I didn’t say I believe that Coach Muschamp caused dissension. I was merely using that as an example of how easy it is to postulate on the edges.
The fact is that the year was tough for everyone. What is getting lost, imo, is the fact that the the chemistry was not there for success on the field. There was not one “cause”. There were many.
It’s too bad that it took a losing season to expose the weaknesses. But shit happens.
Mack is the only one currently on staff who has the experience to take a stab at correcting the situation.
If he is not successful, well, Longhorns have been playing football for a long time and under many a head coach. A day will come when Mack is no longer the head coach. It’s just not today.
Got Carried Away
What, with everyone ripping on MB as if he’s an incompetent baboon and making WM into the second coming who was run off I took a stab at a plausible juxtaposition with same verve as the MB haters. Thing is my scenario is just as legitimate as the others thrown up here today – maybe even moreso!
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 5:38 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
You're right.
None of us “know” what’s right or wrong or what will or won’t happen. That’s why I find it absurd when some on the site have no tolerance for opposing views.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 5:40 PM CST up reply actions
With Signing Day Not Far Off
This is a critical time for recruits and their parents to be concerned about the future of a program they’re considering. All of this doubt and self-loathing put out there by fans eventually filters its way into those dining room table conversations the talented kids have with their folks.
MB is who we have. WM is not. MB has gotten it done at THE highest level. WM has not. Quit yer bitchin’ Longhorn fans, let’s cheer on MB as he “man’s up” and turns it around. This past season was horrid, WM was a part of the horror, too, this will turn out to be a good thing for us!
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 5:56 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
If I read you correctly,
you are concerned that negative comments on the website will hurt recruiting. Others view things a little differently. They feel like expression of their criticism is best for the program in the long run because it will result in a better program which in turn leads to successful recruiting. Winning breeds recruiting. What do you think about a recruit decomitting because he thought he was going to play at UT for Will Muschamp? IMO that is more likely to have an impact on a recruit than what the recruit may read on this website. I will cheer for Mack to make the right decisions, and I hope he does. But I wish he had made the decisions that would have kept Muschamp on the 40 acres.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 6:10 PM CST up reply actions
No, Not Really...but
I’ve posted quite a bit of critical stuff on BON and elsewhere for exactly same reason you point out, it can be healthy if heard and acted on.
But this criticism heaped on Mack, portraying WM as the only thing that was standing between success and mediocrity is not only wildly irrational it’s destructive beyond compare. Sorry, but I don’t think WM was all that after this season, he proved himself to be very undistinguished. To have a fanbase collectively lose their minds, trash the coach we have going forward as if our future is doom and gloom without boom only hurts recruiting.
WM is gone, he’s not a part of our future. And if many of y’all could accept that he may, possibly, just maybe could’ve been part of the problem then maybe, just maybe hope will prevail among our faithful that MB makes great hires and when WM trips up the genius will end up having stayed in Austin.
Exactly how does telling potential recruits that the ship has sailed from Austin to Gainesville help put them at ease, what, you think a dose of “yeah, we’d stay away from UT too, until MB leaves and if you come and help salvage a winning season next year you’ll prolong our era of suckful that we all know is all MB has left in him, so please, please don’t come to UT, follow WM to UF & just let us be bad” will help because it’s constructive criticism? Sorry, that’s destructive criticism that’s arguably without merit.
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 6:40 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Doom and gloom without Boom
Now that’s funny, I like it.
Perhaps we’ll see Muschamp in our future—a national title game!
Pretty Good One, Huh?
It could end up as a headline somewhere!
by RMHorn on Dec 12, 2010 6:57 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
I'm not telling recruits anything.
I’m just another idiot with a keyboard expressing my opinion. I don’t know what I’m talking about. But I’m pretty sure that if some HS player decided to come to UT because he wanted to play for WM, which is not an impossible scenario, then he may very well decide not to come here anymore. There’s nothing I can say on the Internet to keep him here.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 7:51 PM CST up reply actions
I liked "doom and gloom without boom," too.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 7:51 PM CST up reply actions
The problem with this point of view
is that it assumes Mack is somewhere in the middle of his tenure, and not at the end. If Mack leaves the program any time in the next 2 years, and if common speculation is revealed to be true about this situation, then I will argue Mack is in the wrong here, and his decisions have been detrimental to our program, which is to say if Mack is near leaving, I don’t believe there is much validity to your perspective and it is thus the wrong way to look at it.
However, if for some reason Mack’s pending retirement has been greatly exaggerated and he intends to coach 6-8 more years, then I agree with you completely. Mack has every right to run his program the way he wants.
My opinion is based on the assumption that Mack is about to retire. If he is, he needs to realize that we are in a transitional period and he has no business stone-walling our future staff simply because he is too stubborn to relinquish any of his control what-so-ever. I dearly hope that isn’t what has happened.
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 9:05 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
Agree, it depends on the timeline
If Mack was going to retire within two years anyway, then he should have put the future of the program (and also his promise to Will) above his own ego.
I understand he’d rather leave on a high note personally, but he will always be held in high regard by Texas fans, despite one 5-7 season (which is permanently in the books, either way).
Mack has.....
….. $32,400,000 remaining on that contract that expires at the end of the 2016 season. Remember, regardless of performance, he receives annual $100,000 increases. You couldn’t pull him outta there with a Cat D-9 dozer.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
What was once a weakness...
Mack is (in)famous for his loyalty. And my guess is that there are excellent DC’s and OC’s who would love working for him and for the University, love the facilities, love the town and the dominance that UT and MB has in recruiting the state. Some of these guys may not even have head coaching aspirations and would just love to work for Mack without “getting fired” hanging over their head every minute. And if they do have aspirations to take the big job? Where else would do you want to be?
Prosperity Never Lasts!
It should be clear to anyone that prosperity CANNOT last forever! Look, I love Mack and what he has done for Texas but all good things must come to an end. What Eyes said about mediocrity may be eerily the reality for the next five years. Mack missed the boat. I said this after the NCG last year. It should have been Will’s show this year. All of you Longhorn faithful out there still fawning over Mack need to consider this. The "other" program with that "other coach" (ahem-OU, Bob Stoops) seemingly and frustratingly have been dominating the South since the Big 12′s inception. Why does no one talk about that? For all Mack’s greatest he just started having success against OU and only got us two conference titles. How many conference titles does OU have? Not to mention how many times they have had shots at the title. Yeah, I used to effing hate it when Sooner fans would bitch and say "well, at least we got there", whenever I would give them shit about losing. Now I’m starting to drink their Kool-aide! Say what you want about OU and Stoops but for the love of Christ they are ALWAYS seemingly in the right place at the right time! Coincidence? I’m beginning to think not! Oh God it pains me to to think about it but they have the better resume? So when all you Mack lover’s start getting all sentimental about all the things he has done, consider what he hasn’t and what OU has and maybe that will give you more perspective on what the state of our program is in right now! God bless and TEXAS FIGHT!
7 conference titles, 4 shots at the title.
I believe Texas will be back. The SOONER the BETTER!
Do you know where you're at and who I am?
It was the money, not just the ego
though the latter is what BarkingCarnival and Recruitocosm have focused on
Why would Mack negotiate annual raises last season for 2010-2016 if he sincerely planned to leave in one year? Unless there was a buyout for more than a year, no walking/thinking person would walk out on getting paid $5+ million to be the figurehead-type he’s been.
I don’t blame Will at all for acting in his own interest. Mack not really either, but a little more, because we pay him millions to do what’s best for the Longhorns.
Mostly I fault the Board of Regents for naively succumbing to Mack’s interests over the University’s, starting with the decade-long contract in 2004, before he even won the Rose Bowl, much less a MNC.
Just pray this doesn't turn into a Bowden-like decline for the next 7 years
also, meant to type $5+ million a year above
The one issue nobody's talking about
which is one of the first that entered my mind, is the Longhorn television network. I think that little card is a game-changer that could force Bellmont’s hand in the midst of a slow decline. It could give the University a more plausible excuse to stop the bleeding, PR be damned. Penn St and FSU didn’t have that dynamic to consider.
by BrooklynHorn on Dec 12, 2010 4:16 PM CST up reply actions
Was Chizik leaving Mack Brown's fault?
I don’t see this as that different. Obviously the HCIW title makes it slightly different, but I always thought that was just a way to keep our great DC for a little longer. It was a lesson learned after Chizik left.
Gene Chizik took....
…. the first train out of town. Just like Greg Robinson before him. No DC worth his salt can prepare a defense, long-term, while his “beasts” are being subdued with daily coddling. It won’t be any different for our next defensive coordinator.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
by HornChamps on Dec 12, 2010 5:12 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
We'll get a feel as to how bad things are at Texas...
…If Applewhite follows Muschamp to Gatorland.
If Major leaves, there are some BIG problems within the program.
yea why Mack is now under pressure to promote Applewhite (desperation move)
because losing a Texas ex-player & alum would truly be an indictment on this program and Mack’s ability to work with and ultimately retain anyone more intelligent than a yes-man (GD)
Who in your opinion is a better gauge of Major's OC capabilities?
Mack or Will? My money is on Mack.
Before the whole Major Applewhite/Chris Simms idiocy, I may have agreed with you.
Mack’s inexplicable poor judgment in that whole cluster**** may well have cost Texas (and himself) an earlier national championship.
by osarpmaster on Dec 12, 2010 5:24 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Mack has given us a great body of evidence to doubt his judgment recently.
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 5:29 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
Well, Mack kept GD here for 13 years
So I’d go with Will.
by GoHornsGo90 on Dec 12, 2010 6:45 PM CST up reply actions 4 recs
word
"I'm not playing favorites. All my favorites have graduated." - A. Lemons
by Paleface Horn on Dec 12, 2010 7:52 PM CST up reply actions
BOOM!!
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
Coaching at UT next season...
…will be like working in a PTSD ward. With so much change at the coaching level, and an HC who is getting tired of making decisions, there is a very good chance that 2011 could be a dissatisfying season all the way around.
If you have ever been through a significant re-org of a company, if there isn’t clear decisiveness, certainty of purpose and no second guessing, you have chaos. I sincerely hope that is NOT what we are facing next Fall, but it’s very possible.
Not wishing to be the angel of death here, just a realist. (The 2010 has vanquished hope and wishful thinking.) We have serious issues and just filling coaching positions won’t magically fix it.
There has to be the cohesion and rock-solid mission plan that got us to the NC a few short years ago. That starts and stops with Mack, period. And right now, he’s the babbling guy in the wheelchair, over in the corner of the Ward, asking where his pudding is.
For a few precious moments.....I am back in Old Texas, under a high sky, where all things are again possible and the wind blows free - Larry L. King
The Plan?
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”
Let’s hope this is all part of an elaborate MB plan to restore discipline to the organization.
MB allowed descension to creep in and that is the death sentence for any organization, especially a football team. He realizes that and I hope will right the ship with renewed focus and discipline.
This is definitely mack brown's fault
How anyone could be excited about having a coach who was ready to retire after this year is beyond me. He obviously mailed it in this year and why would anyone expect anything less next year?
by dudoo on Dec 12, 2010 5:12 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
No sense of history
Hhey MB haters…go back in time and tell if you like the state of the program before MB….quit wetting your pants and let this play out!
I am not an "MB hater"
Incidentally, though, in my time travels, I went back to 1969 and 1970. State of the program looked fantastic.
1969-70?
Interesting…why not go back to 42-43 ( finished 1st in the conference )…but why quibble…perhaps you have forgotten most of the 80’s-90’s…if you don’t like MB,so be it…be careful what you wish for!!
OK
I acccept that…yet there are many others who wish to have him tarred and
feathered…is he the best coach in America?.. NO!….is he a clueless idiot?…NO!…He is a good coach that resurrected a floundering program…I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt…he’s earned that ( in my humble opinion )
Anyone who had the pleasure....
…. of watching Coach Royal’s teams did not, ever forget about the 90’s. Quit playing the child.
--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---
IMHO Mack can get us back on track
I don’t blame Boom for taking the Fla. job when Mack had no timetable for stepping down.
I’m not sure if Muschamp would make a good head coach.
Mack has made good hires before , other than hanging with his buddy GDGD too long.
The Longhorn football team has imploded starting with Cleve Bryant and it may not be over yet.
by TCB Orange Dino on Dec 12, 2010 11:49 PM CST reply actions
GOBR, great balanced analysis.
I am interested in your answer to the question you pose.
"Only angry people win football games." --DKR
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