I know some will disagree with this

[Navinjohnson15]

The people wanting to hear an announcement of the new coach if Mack resigns need to keep in mind the job posting has to be up for 10 days correct? It is a state position so don't expect this to happen overnight.

 

[ball911]

If Mack is here past Sunday, we could be looking at a real mess. I'll give Mack the legend treatment...after he actually gets out of the way.

 

[whatthewhat]

I agree completely people have let their emotions get in the way of the fact that things like this take time. I am sure there has been a plan in place for a while when and if Mack steps down. Let it play out and let see if Mack does it with class just like the majority of things he has done throughout his career.

I agree completely. Five days isn't a lot of time for a man to come to grips with being shown the door, or rather shoved through it, not when he's invested this many years and he's been made to believe he'd only retire when he was ready. Even the best of men under the worst of circumstances would need time to acclimate, and I don't fault him for it in the least. I'm confident in the end he'll go out with grace, and hopefully, Longhorn Nation will quickly forget this hiccup in his legacy.

 

[SanTexHorn]

I am a nobody here (hell, don't kid yourself, Jim. You are a nobody everywhere), but I disagree with the premise that MB is making is easy on UT. I understand not wanting to quit. That feeling is instilled in athletes and coaches, and not giving up is one of the many great lessons one learns from athletics. It is quite another thing, however, to refuse to accept the result when the game is over. This game has been over for MB for awhile now, but he has refused to accept it publicly, and thus far, he has refused to bow out gracefully. Maybe he will, but releasing JJ, his personal junkyard dog, to express his denial for him while he maintains his "it is all about the kids" MB image spin is not a good sign. I hope he does the right thing today.
It is all about MB for him. That has been true since day one. MBTF? Bull$#@!. It is Texas Football, and it will be here and strong long after this big ego moves on. I respect the accomplishments but not the man.

JimR, glad to see you on this board. As a former Longhorn baseball star, you are far from a "nobody" here. You can see things from a different perspective than 99% of the rest of us. I haven't always agreed with everything you've said, but I have always admired your contribution to Longhorn athletics. Hope you become a regular poster over here.

 

[MBHORNSFAN]

But Mack's handling this well, imo. He could easily make this whole thing a nightmare for Texas. He's not. Just about any other coach would be talking to the media and making things more difficult. I think we're all just expecting too much given the circumstances. Everyone keeps bringing up USC. USC didn't fire a legend. They fired a JAG that nobody will talk about anymore and who didn't deserve that job. What's going on right now is a soap opera because that's the only way it could be in this scenario. Texas splitting ways with one of it's top 2 coaches ever and about to potentially hire maybe the best ever. This is kind of a big deal.

I do think he has stalled some but overall considering we are just a week from the Baylor game this is moving rather quickly..

 

[Lord Vader]

I'm sure different people are getting different interpretations, just as with any such situation.

Neither man is known for his "interpretations", they are both purported to be "insiders", they both have conflicting information about the same thing, and both are believed to be right by one faction or another. McPhaul and him are both here, let them debate this.

 

[Pancho Negro]

But Mack's handling this well, imo. He could easily make this whole thing a nightmare for Texas. He's not. Just about any other coach would be talking to the media and making things more difficult. I think we're all just expecting too much given the circumstances. Everyone keeps bringing up USC. USC didn't fire a legend. They fired a JAG that nobody will talk about anymore and who didn't deserve that job. What's going on right now is a soap opera because that's the only way it could be in this scenario. Texas splitting ways with one of it's top 2 coaches ever and about to potentially hire maybe the best ever. This is kind of a big deal.

It's all about perception. 50% of media is claiming this is being handled in the most circus way possible it looks bad for us. (Then they also bring up the Paterno and Bowden situations with similar parallels.) I see where you're coming from and I've calmed down a bit. But PR and Communication is a UT strong suit and it seems we missed the boat on that with this situation.

 

[caspiderman]

As long as he doesn't poison the waters for the next hire he is doing what any coach should do and that is fight. Right or wrong there should be no quit in coaches nor athletes. I am a bit surprised since I don't feel his teams have always had the attitude he seems to be showing right now.

 

[BeauR]

I am a nobody here (hell, don't kid yourself, Jim. You are a nobody everywhere), but I disagree with the premise that MB is making is easy on UT. I understand not wanting to quit. That feeling is instilled in athletes and coaches, and not giving up is one of the many great lessons one learns from athletics. It is quite another thing, however, to refuse to accept the result when the game is over. This game has been over for MB for awhile now, but he has refused to accept it publicly, and thus far, he has refused to bow out gracefully. Maybe he will, but releasing JJ, his personal junkyard dog, to express his denial for him while he maintains his "it is all about the kids" MB image spin is not a good sign. I hope he does the right thing today.
It is all about MB for him. That has been true since day one. MBTF? Bull$#@!. It is Texas Football, and it will be here and strong long after this big ego moves on. I respect the accomplishments but not the man.

As usual, I find JimR to have well-reasoned and refreshing comments. Thanks for those, as always.

 

[lilMAC25]

The people wanting to hear an announcement of the new coach if Mack resigns need to keep in mind the job posting has to be up for 10 days correct? It is a state position so don't expect this to happen overnight.

No.

It's a formality only. KK was hired and announced within 2 days of Tech officially firing Leach.

 

[CarlosDanger]

But Mack's handling this well, imo. He could easily make this whole thing a nightmare for Texas. He's not. Just about any other coach would be talking to the media and making things more difficult. I think we're all just expecting too much given the circumstances. Everyone keeps bringing up USC. USC didn't fire a legend. They fired a JAG that nobody will talk about anymore and who didn't deserve that job. What's going on right now is a soap opera because that's the only way it could be in this scenario. Texas splitting ways with one of it's top 2 coaches ever and about to potentially hire maybe the best ever. This is kind of a big deal.

EM, thanks for posting on this great site....this is by far the best board for UT sports....by far....and it saves you $9.99 a month!

I believe Mack is a complex individual.....i think there's a side of MB that is what you see, honest, stand up and a great human being......but then you look at the Brian Jones stories of being called into coach's office w/ the minions....I think there's a side of Mack that is overly sensitive and almost has a Nixonesqe urge to control the message.

I think Mack lost this football team w/ a lack of accountability....but that's not just me saying that....at my work we have a walkon player who said that...there's no accountability and so there was a lack of leadership on this team.....until this year when guys like Jeffcoat and Whaley started to step up. Previous years we had Major, VY, and Colt....

One more thing, Mack is a victim of his own success. He helped build this from a $20M to $100M+ annual revenue machine w/ his recruiting and PR skills.....but the monster is hungrier for more and now he must be given a viking funeral to satisfy it with one of the greatest coaches in CFB history ready to step in.

So I do agree he could make this worse....but he could've resigned last Sunday when he met w/ his players the OB/Chip leakage dimension wouldn't exist...

 

[HookemDTX]

The people wanting to hear an announcement of the new coach if Mack resigns need to keep in mind the job posting has to be up for 10 days correct? It is a state position so don't expect this to happen overnight.

That is incorrect.

 

[Navinjohnson15]

That is incorrect.

Thanks for the clarification. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

 

[DocHorn]

I am a nobody here (hell, don't kid yourself, Jim. You are a nobody everywhere), but I disagree with the premise that MB is making is easy on UT. I understand not wanting to quit. That feeling is instilled in athletes and coaches, and not giving up is one of the many great lessons one learns from athletics. It is quite another thing, however, to refuse to accept the result when the game is over. This game has been over for MB for awhile now, but he has refused to accept it publicly, and thus far, he has refused to bow out gracefully. Maybe he will, but releasing JJ, his personal junkyard dog, to express his denial for him while he maintains his "it is all about the kids" MB image spin is not a good sign. I hope he does the right thing today.
It is all about MB for him. That has been true since day one. MBTF? Bull$#@!. It is Texas Football, and it will be here and strong long after this big ego moves on. I respect the accomplishments but not the man.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but I don't think Mack has been that way from day one

Several things about Mack are interesting

1 Mack has never understood the intense rivalry, downright hatrid, for ouSuxx and aggy. Thus he looks at a loss to ouSuxx, especially a blowout as something with the team to be fixed, it doesn't seem to disturb him to his core like it does to those of us alums and fans that love UT

As a result when we lose a blowout to ouSuxx he never gets how awful the pain is for us, he just doesn't, and then we turn around in a year or two and there is another blowout loss.

2. Mack was genuinely humble for a while but he would lose big games at the most inopportune times ie CU-2, and that just ripped us apart

3 After we got over the hump with VY and the sensational year of 2005, Mack seemed to change and started believing he was bullet proof and that HE was Texas Football, and that continued threw the Colt years.

4 Mack got lazy in recruiting in 08-09, terribly mismanaged our qb situation, didn't have a competent backup ready when Colt went down and now we have had these 4 yrs

5 Mack thinks because of the good years he should be immune to accountability and I think this happened in the last 7 or 8 yrs.

In short, mack has done some really good things for UT, especially his early yrs in recruiting and providing the basis for some good to great teams. I also think he left several conference championships and perhaps a national championship on the table due to a lack of good caoching on his part.

The last four years are unacceptable and he needs to understand that, but he just doesn't get it.

Powers will have to coax him into the presser, and if not, Patterson needs to bring a hatchett

 

[Navinjohnson15]

No.
It's a formality only. KK was hired and announced within 2 days of Tech officially firing Leach.

I am assuming you mean Tuberville? This could have been the case don't keep up with them that much. Thanks for info.

 

[mesoHorny]

But Mack's handling this well, imo. He could easily make this whole thing a nightmare for Texas. He's not. Just about any other coach would be talking to the media and making things more difficult. I think we're all just expecting too much given the circumstances. Everyone keeps bringing up USC. USC didn't fire a legend. They fired a JAG that nobody will talk about anymore and who didn't deserve that job. What's going on right now is a soap opera because that's the only way it could be in this scenario. Texas splitting ways with one of it's top 2 coaches ever and about to potentially hire maybe the best ever. This is kind of a big deal.

Your right EM. I don't agree. Mack is acting like a baby. Think of Major Applewhite. Mack sat him down in favor of a younger player. What UT is doing is exactly that kind of decision. Doing what they think is best for UT. Sorry Mack is being a baby and can't accept that the powers in charge don't believe his the best option moving forward but that is life and it happens to all of us. Coaching is the only profession where I hear the words he's earned the right to leave on his own terms. That may have been how it was at one time but that's not how things are now and Mack needs to realize that at step aside. The fact he demanding a payoff to leave is total BS to me. He has been very well compensated for his time here.

 

[jvb3190]

Valid points by all on here, but here is my $.02. There are still a 100 young men on this team that went home after the Baylor loss. They were not scheduled to return to campus until today. There is also a job (recruiting) to be done with the dead period quickly approaching. The fact the team was gone and work still had to be done could account for the lack of information or (denials) coming from the MB side of things. If I were a coach who spent this much time with these young men I would want to tell them in person rather than through text messages, twitter, or have them hear it on SportsCenter.

As it relates to Tuberville, Tech didnt fire him. He took the Cincy job leaving his players in the cold. Was the same with Kelly when he left Cincy for ND. Those players found out they didnt have a coach through social media and ESPN.

Could I be wrong on this? Sure, but I do think that some of this can be attributed to the process.

 

[rabastad]

So, a couple of different posters have mentioned that Mack could make this worse. I would be very interested in hearing how you perceive he could do this. How could him talking to the media blow this up even more? Do you think he would expose dirty secrets of the current regime? This would guarantee he lands on the black list for any future job opportunities and demolish any positive buy out scenarios other than what is strictly in his contract. He whines to the media about being a Texas coaching legend who is unceremoniously shown the door? Well, just for starters, his record in the past 4 years vs his paycheck shows that he needs to be gone.

How exactly could Mack make this worse? This isn't sarcasm, I honestly would like to hear logical reasons.

 

[Juan]

from Mack Brown@UT_MackBrown today

"Don't waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you ......assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best prep for the hours or ages that follow it.â€

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

[mesoHorny]

So, a couple of different posters have mentioned that Mack could make this worse. I would be very interested in hearing how you perceive he could do this. How could him talking to the media blow this up even more? Do you think he would expose dirty secrets of the current regime? This would guarantee he lands on the black list for any future job opportunities and demolish any positive buy out scenarios other than what is strictly in his contract. He whines to the media about being a Texas coaching legend who is unceremoniously shown the door? Well, just for starters, his record in the past 4 years vs his paycheck shows that he needs to be gone.
How exactly could Mack make this worse? This isn't sarcasm, I honestly would like to hear logical reasons.

Because the university doesn't want to fire him and Mack knows that. So what you have here is a huge game of chicken. Mack seeing how far he can push things without the university getting fed up and just firing him instead of him stepping down.