:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26721999/186648711.0.jpg)
The first tweet for Texas Longhorns strength and conditioning coach Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden on Sunday evening seems as if it also may have been his last in burnt orange:
Blessed with 16 great years on the 40 Acres. Grateful for all the Great Players, Coaches, Staff & FANS!!! #HookEmHorns
— Jeff Madden (@jeff_maddog) January 12, 2014
Though the wording was not quite conclusive, Madden's Wikipedia page has already been changed to refer to him as the former strength and conditioning coach at Texas and the timing coincided with a team meting that started at 5 p.m. CT Sunday.
A member of former head coach Mack Brown's inner circle who followed Brown from North Carolina, Madden received all the accolades that a strength and conditioning coach could hold, including Master Strength and Conditioning Coach and spending time as the president of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, but often drew criticism from fans for a physique that hardly suggested that he was dedicated to his own physical health and fitness.
Those perceptions will likely define his legacy in the minds of many fans.
Madden was responsible for overseeing the strength and conditioning efforts of the entire Texas athletic department, but focused mostly on the football program, even after the addition of Bennie Wylie following the 2010 season. Wylie tweeted out his departure last week.
With some possible feedback from athletic director Steve Patterson, new head coach Charlie Strong has started his efforts to change the culture at Texas through wholesale change of the staff.
It is truly a new era on the 40 Acres.