For the first time since a report surfaced Tuesday that he would be stepping down as Texas’ head coach, Mack Brown spoke publicly and (somewhat) addressed his status. Suffice to say, that’s still to be determined.
Speaking at an Alamo Bowl press conference, Brown acknowledged the speculation swirling around his future with the UT football program, saying he plans to meet with new athletic director Steve Patterson and president Bill Powers to discuss the direction all the parties involved will take.
“My situation has not changed,” Brown said. “We hired what I think is a great athletic director in Steve Patterson. Any time the athletic director changes, it changes the game. I will sit down and talk to him and Bill and discuss the direction we’re going.
“I’m looking forward to my meeting with Bill and Steve and then move forward.”
Brown declined to answer when asked if the bowl game would be his last as Longhorns coach. The meeting that could decide his fate is expected to occur sometime today.
At least a couple of times during his press conference Thursday morning, Brown dropped Powers’ name. Powers, long a vehement supporter of the coach, will be the subject of a closed-door meeting of the Texas Board of Regents later Thursday that could result in the president’s ouster following a lengthy power struggle with state political figures. However, it’s now being reported that, to the surprise of many observers, Powers is expected to survive and remain in his current position.
With Brown’s fate reportedly tied in some part to that of Powers, would the latter retaining his position end with the same result for the former? That’s unclear -- some say it won’t save him -- but it’s certainly an interesting development for a situation that, one way or the other, will likely come to a conclusion at some point Friday.