So, raise your hand if you thought Larry Mac Duff was gonna be named defensive coordinator...
You, there in the back! Put your hand down! Effing liar.
You did not know it. I did not know it. Rivals didn't know it. The Statesman didn't know it. No one did.
What makes it so interesting, though, is that it's sort of the ultimate middle ground between the two possible scenarios everyone kept talking about: Akina or New Guy.
In a way, we got both. Without being behind the scenes, we can only speculate on how this came about, but it sure as looks like Mack Brown sat down with Duane Akina and said something like, "Duane - we need a linebackers coach. I want you here at Texas coaching my secondary. But I also need a hell of a linebackers coach."
Akina (who, by the way, wanted to stay at Texas, whether he got promoted or not), thinks for a second and says, "You know what? I may know just the guy. What about bringing in my boy Larry Mac Duff?"
"The Duffster?" Mack asks. "Scruff Duff Magoo?"
"Indeed," Akina replies.
And there you go. Mack looks into the Duff Man, brings him in for an interview, loves the guy, loves that he's tight with Akina... and here we are. The Great Compromise. Akina's happy. Mack gets an experienced linebacker coach. We already know these guys can work well together. It makes so much sense that you wonder why no one thought of it before.
Anyway, in the coming days I'm sure we'll all learn more about Mac Duff and what he brings to the table, but I'm pretty impressed with this little solution. Here we all were, speculating about Aknia or New Guy, when the answer was both.
Nicely done, all around.
--PB--