On the heels of yet another disappointing season in Austin, there were some around the Texas football program ready to shove Mack Brown out to pasture.
If one of the university’s most powerful individuals has any say (he does), there will be no shoving for the foreseeable future.
Responding to speculation that Brown could find himself out, UT president Bill Powers was unequivocal in a seemingly out-of-the-blue, unsolicited statement addressing the rumors: Brown is and will remain on as the Longhorns’ head football coach. Here’s Powers’ statement, in its entirety.Now that the Longhorn football team has finished its regular season, there has been an increase in media speculation about Coach Mack Brown’s future. I’d like to state unequivocally that Coach Brown has my full support as well as the support of Men’s Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds. Put succinctly, Mack Brown is and will remain the Longhorns’ head football coach.
Coach Brown restored Texas’ winning tradition. He embodies the Texas character, is a superb ambassador for The University of Texas, and runs a program that is both winning and clean, a program that all alumni and fans can and should be proud of. Mack cares about the young men on the team as people, as students, and as players, in that order, and he models the kind of leadership that will serve our players for the rest of their lives.
I look forward to watching this young team win the Alamo Bowl and continue to grow in seasons to come.
Coming off a streak of nine consecutive 10-plus-win seasons that included a national championship, Texas has won just 21 the past three. The ‘Horns have lost 16 games in that span; they’d lost 19 the previous 10 years.
While Brown, who signed a contract extension earlier this year through 2020, may be safe at the moment, another season like the past three will test the resolve of Powers as well as athletic director DeLoss Dodds. And their commitment to the long-time coach.