Report: DeLoss Dodds to step down as Texas AD by end of year

There may be a major shakeup in the Texas Longhorns athletic department in the next several months, as Orangebloods is reporting on Friday that athletic director DeLoss Dodds will step down at the end of the year.

Texas quickly responded to queries about the report, as expected:

Regarding Orangebloods report that DeLoss Dodds soon will step down as AD, UT spokesman Nick Voinis says, "Absolutely not true."

— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) September 13, 2013

The resignation of Dodds would set the stage for possible coaching changes in all three sports under a new athletic director, but the most important change would obviously be that of the head football coach -- speculation has long held that Dodds would not fire Mack Brown or force him to resign during Dodds' tenure, leaving the task of hiring a new coach up to his replacement.

So, if the news is true about Dodds stepping down -- and it seems premature at this time to assume that such a decision is already set in stone -- it would essentially make Brown a lame-duck coach at this time, with virtually nothing that he can do to save his job, though it's possible that he could return for another year under a new athletic director.

Possibly, but highly unlikely.

There are already some names circulating regarding both positions. The initial report from Orangebloods ($) in their weekly War Room names Big 12 commissioner and former Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby as a potential candidate to replace Dodds. So does a report from Inside Texas ($) that was published yesterday evening.

That bit of speculation has now leaked beyond the paywalls.

As for a potential coaching search under the new athletic director, both reports indicate that if Bowlsby were to accept the job, which is hardly a given, then he would target current Stanford head coach David Shaw, whose physical offense takes the use of tight ends and H-backs to a level past what even former co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin attempted.

Sounds like it may be an interesting couple of months coming around the 40 Acres.