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In the wake of Lane Kiffin's 4 a.m. pink slip, a Longhorn legend has weighed in his opinion about the future of the Texas program. Earl Campbell, the greatest Texas player of all time, told Fox 26 in Houston that he believes Mack Brown and Texas need to part ways.
"Nobody likes to get fired or leave a job, but things happen," Campbell said. "I'd go on record and say 'yes I think it's time.'
Campbell praised the firing of the Lane Kiffin, saying that it's best to move forward quickly and to be swift decision makers.
"I'd just say this, I take my hat off for USC for what they've done. They didn't mess around with it. They just said 'let's do it now.' I think at some point our university's people are going to have make a decision."
Campbell also said he'd like to see Texas bring in former Longhorn Jerry Gray, who is currently the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.
"If we're going to make a change I would like to say that we got one in the house, Jerry Gray, who's getting in the College Football Hall of Fame," Cambell said. "I think that would be a good place to start."
"Very hard because Coach Brown is a very good man," Campbell said. "I just hope he doesn't stay...he's done some great things. The program, he brought it back, and we don't need it to get run down where somebody has to start all over again, maybe Jerry Gray."
He conceded that Kiffin and Brown are not in comparable situations, with Brown being a coaching legend and Kiffin a pariah.
For Brown, it would appear that his situation is unfixable. Regardless of this season's outcome, Texas fans are demanding a change in leadership. Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds and Joe Jamail might be Brown's last supporters, and with Orangebloods reporting Dodds reassignment at the end of 2013, it seems that change is inevitable. It's hard to imagine worse Texas PR than a Joe Jamail court case against Earl Campbell.
The infrastructure of Texas football is cracking, and the only way to fix it is with new leadership.