There I sat last Saturday on my couch in front of my TV with no desire to finish the wings on the plate in front of me—a rarity—while my Texas jersey off and thrown to the left hung up on the stairwell just a few feet from where my hat had landed earlier in a fit of frustration.
It was only the second quarter.
Sure, I acted like a tyrant child who was told “no†too many times at Toys ‘R’ Us but at this point, I feel the frustration warrants such emotion. I don’t know what to make of it all any more. Almost a week after the most disgusting performance I’ve ever seen on a football field I am still sitting on that same couch with the same emotions and a whole lot of confusion running through my head like the BYU offense ran through the Longhorns’ defense.
Has it really come to this? Am I the only one or was Manny Diaz’s firing or “reassignment†a year too late? It’s like Diaz, who probably should have been fired last season, was in the perfect place at the perfect time to be the guinea pig of the Longhorns’ issues. Yes, he was the majority of their issues, but at this point it’s so much deeper than defensive struggles.
Look, my apologies go out to everyone who is a part of the program that is doing everything they can; I’m not sure if that is a whole bunch of people or any people at all but it’s the thought that counts, right? Today the Longhorns will go out onto the field at DKR under the biggest magnifying glass ever.
With David Ash out of the game officially and, no pun intended, insult to injury is the last thing the Longhorns need going up against an Ole Miss Rebels team that remembers last season’s 66-31 thumping. The Rebels arguably have the best immediate future of any school in the nation with a No.1 recruiting class that is making a difference now.
So, while the Aggies host Alabama in College Station for the “Game of the Century: Part Two,†the Longhorns are 48 hours away from possibly having to answer the Question of the Century; If Ole Miss wins and wins big does Mack Brown have a job come Monday?
I already know the answer; YES. Of course he does. He has everyone’s support and enough excuses in his arsenal that would make the world’s biggest dead-beat-dad look like a model American. There will be outrage and as for the wolves growling at the door, well… they have been growling for some time now.
The fact is, Brown probably couldn’t do any less of a disastrous job than he and members of his staff have already done over the past three seasons and the “Powers” that be still wouldn’t fire him. At the end of the day, Mack Brown has done a lot more than people want to remember, and the university owes it to him to let him leave peacefully while quietly making it out to the media as if he decided to step down.
And you know what? I’m completely fine with that.  But if Texas loses this weekend or to anyone else they aren’t supposed to lose to the University also owes it to their students, faculty, alumni and most of all, every single fan to address the reality of a situation that IS NOT working.  The aforementioned parties would appreciate it much more instead of the blatant hiding behind support and smiles for coach Brown.
I’m tired of everybody rushing to Mack’s side in defense and support of the 16 year Texas coach. It’s time to own the mess that has been piling up for the last three seasons. Tomorrow and every Saturday for the rest of the season—especially in Big 12 play—Mack Brown’s fate awaits him whether anybody wants to admit it or not. There is an elephant in the room and it’s much larger than Alabama’s mascot, Big Al. There are absolutely zero excuses if the Longhorns lose another game this season.
Frankly, I’m not sure if a Big 12 championship and win in the Fiesta Bowl would be enough to please Texas fans. Taking into account his age, the last three Texas football seasons and the fear that it could get even worse, Mack Brown would be best suited to step down at the end of this season. If he announces it sooner rather than later he’ll have a better chance to go out as a hero instead of the villain Texas fans have come to know him as lately.
Either way, after last weekend, it’s time for a change in Austin and I think we all need to stop pretending that it isn’t in the best interest of the program.
