Just going to hit the high points of the Jim Vertuno article published this afternoon, but all signs point to the end of the Mack Brown/Texas marriage being a nasty one.
Vertuno reports shortly after Alabama destroyed Notre Dame to win the last BCS Championship, Texas Regent Steve Hicks, the brother of sports team owner Tom Hicks, contacted Nick Saban’s agent Jimmy Sexton about replacing Brown as coach at Texas. Â Vertuno states in addition to this contact, Tom Hicks met with Brown, informed him of the call, and asked Brown if he was ready to retire.
Brown obviously said he wanted to keep coaching, and the matter reportedly dropped. Â Later in the year, Brown stated he intended to stay at Texas until his contract ends in 2020, despite a consistent decline in the teams progress and national standing.
Where things get ugly is big money booster Joe Jamail, a billionaire lawyer who is one of the “big cigars”, represents Brown and refuses to budge on his dismissal. When the incident was brought up to him, Jamail threatened to sue any outside entity which would attempt to get Brown to resign. “If there are any more, get ready for a lawsuit,” Jamail was quoted as saying.
With each passing embarrassment to the program, it only becomes more clear the powers that be in Bellmont care more about money than winning, even at the expense of the team and it’s fan base. There are several top coaches and athletic directors who would fight tooth and nail to get in at Texas, and would likely grow a monster far more powerful than what Saban has made at Alabama.
That said..until that day comes, we’re all just a bunch of bad friends stuck on the crazy train.
