Rumors in Austin are running wild about the future of Mack Brown. Here was a marque coach who had a 'coach in waiting replacement' who couldn't wait on Mack to stack his legacy with potential national championship trophies and for Mack to ride the waves to the AD's office. This former Sooner staff coach was seen as a potential living legend.

Did Mack's greed and 'super ego' led to his fall off the turnip wagon?

"One has to wonder just how much Brown has left, at least in regards to his time in Austin. Looking at the rest of the Longhorns’ schedule, one can only assume that Texas will drop at least three or four more games. If they finish around the .500 mark, it is unlikely that Brown will return to Texas in 2014."

NCAA Football Rumors: When Will Texas Longhorns Fire Mack Brown? | Boston Super Blog (http://www.bostonsuperblog.com/2013/09/ncaa-football-rumors-when-will-texas-longhorns-fire-mack-brown-3079)

Lou Holtz comes to Mack Brown's defense.

"ESPN's College Football Live ran a mock trial on whether the Texas Longhorns should fire Mack Brown. Rece Davis was the judge, while Mark May argued for firing Brown and Holtz argued against firing. What started out as a light-hearted segment ended with Holtz seriously and passionately defending Mack Brown, then knocking the podium over and walking off the set."

http://http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20130915-lou-holtz-passionately-defends-longhorns-coach-mack-brown-i-am-damn-sick-and-tired-of-everybody-jumping-on-coaches.ece

Let us hope that Mack Brown survives this latest 'installment' attacking his coaching credentials (after Red River Shootout); give the OU Sooners a few more years of hooking those horns as Mack's legacy sinks into the quicksand pit of high profile college coaches who have been put out to pasture.

What are your thoughts about Longhorn coaching situation?

Unfortunately, if OU beats TX in Dallas, that will likely be the final "nail."

From what I've read on Horn boards over the last few days, the staff is practically in insurrection, down to shouting matches and point-counterpoint dares to fire insubordinate staff. A "players only" meeting following the BYU game drew only a fraction of the team.

The season apparently started fraying early, as it was expected that Brown would not retain Manny Diaz going into 2013. Some staffers opted to remain under a new DC, only to find out at the beginning of the year Diaz would be retained. Duane Akina, one assistant, was rumored to be infuriated, because he wanted no part of a Diaz-directed defense, to say nothing of the impracticality of trying to change defensive schemes in the middle of the season. Now, some coaches are in official lame-duck mode, some are trying to make the best of what's left, and most are aware that Deloss Dodds (who apparently has some significant health issues) has reportedly already submitted his "retirement" effective at the end of the year. And his departure will supposedly end the influence of the two boosters prime in influencing Dodds to keep Brown as coach.

Now, mind you, most of this is rumor and conjecture drawn from a variety of boards, so take all that for what it's worth - but they do tend to have a common "ring" to them - Mack's lost his staff, and the staff has all-but lost the players. Supposedly, Mack can hold his job only if he wins out, and not even the most ardent Horn fans are holding any realistic hope for that.

K-State goes in to the Texas game this week with, if memory serve, a five-game (maybe six?) win streak. This is a weak K-State team by those standards, but a win over Texas this week would be like pouring water on a grease fire. Some big money types have already communicated to relevant "brass" that they're not even bothering with OU-Texas this year; some allegedly have already put out "feelers" to Nick Saban at Bama.

Horrible talent evaluation, too much coach-by-clapping, many folks even up here suspected a big part of Texas' problem was Mack, even to suggest that perhaps he won his 2005 title with Vince Young in spite of himself. Who knows. The consensus, however, is that Mack's waited too long to exit the scene himself, and the bonfire from Austin is only beginning.

Since Dodds is set to retire, I guess both he and Mack have finally been given their marching orders from Red and Joe. Mack will probably announce he is stepping down as head coach and will move into the athletic department, more than likely in some sort of media capacity, he will not be the new AD. There are too many business minded people and the UT Athletic Department is a big business, I think they try to find a Joe Castiglione type of AD instead of a former coach. The big names you hear bandied about replacing Mack are going to have a hard time filling the job since the UT head coach has to be more politician than coach, he needs to be a CEO coach who hires great assistants.

Coach Boom would have been more of a failure at UT than he has been at Florida, him jumping ship was the best thing for both of them.

Since Dodds is set to retire, I guess both he and Mack have finally been given their marching orders from Red and Joe. Mack will probably announce he is stepping down as head coach and will move into the athletic department, more than likely in some sort of media capacity, he will not be the new AD. There are too many business minded people and the UT Athletic Department is a big business, I think they try to find a Joe Castiglione type of AD instead of a former coach. The big names you hear bandied about replacing Mack are going to have a hard time filling the job since the UT head coach has to be more politician than coach, he needs to be a CEO coach who hires great assistants.

Coach Boom would have been more of a failure at UT than he has been at Florida, him jumping ship was the best thing for both of them.

Looks as though Mack Brown overplayed his hand. He should have put himself in position to replace Dobbs and turn the rings over to Will Muschamp; instead, his eagerness to stay on led to Muschamp's departure. What a possible sad fate for Mack Brown; his persistence eventually catapulted him into this fisaco.

“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”--Benjamin Franklin.

I hope Mack stay head coach at UT forever. As for Muschamp, he probably won't be at Florida for long either. Maybe Muschamp should get an apartment in Austin just in case.

I hope Mack stay head coach at UT forever. As for Muschamp, he probably won't be at Florida for long either. Maybe Muschamp should get an apartment in Austin just in case.

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

At least we have the Longhorn Network to broadcast the collapse nationwide so we won't miss anything. You are right about Texas having everything in their favor and coming up dry. Even their last NC came on a 4th down play with just a few seconds left in the game. They have done less with more than any team in college football history.

At least we have the Longhorn Network to broadcast the collapse nationwide so we won't miss anything. You are right about Texas having everything in their favor and coming up dry. Even their last NC came on a 4th down play with just a few seconds left in the game. They have done less with more than any team in college football history.

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

My guess is that if Texas is doing it right, they will hire Kirby Smart, DC at Alabama. He would be an incredible hire and would get their defense shaped up in a hurry (and he's a good recruiter).

However, Texas seems to think they have to hire someone with head coaching experience, so they'll probably make a bad hire.

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

That "something" was a 5-7 disaster of a season. Mack wanted to go out on a "high note," and he had "earned" the right to rebuild the ship before taking his final voyage. EGO.

As for Saban, he probably wouldn't be up to all the political glad-handing that is a requirement of the job in Austin. He wants to be left the F alone to coach and recruit. He will, however, flirt a little bit to get a raise.

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

or wants it

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

Odd story about Muschamp....one fairly lengthy post I read from (I can't remember which) CFB board was that Muschamp was, "head coach in effect" during the 2010 season...that Mack had pretty much become a figurehead, and he was going to retire at the end of that year more or less on his own terms. Then, something, somewhere, that year went crosswise, Brown changed his mind, took the reins back from Muschamp, and that hacked Muschamp off and opened the door to his eventual hiring at Florida.

Right now, and I suspect it's been true for decades, the biggest problem within Texas football is, well, Texas football. Tons of politicking. Tons of BMD (Big Money Donors) competing to see who has the biggest....donation....and influence. And some of those influences have, well, too much influence, to the point of possibly even influencing decisions about personnel and recruiting..."y'all go after THAT boy ovah in Childress...", which ties in at least loosely with some of the inexplicable talent assessments that have been made in Austin in the last few years....such as RGIII originally wanting to play QB at Texas, but Brown wanted him to play corner, if memory serves. And that's not the only such story. Protection of players not as good as their press clippings, a la Chris Simms, magic transformations of players out of HS that go from two or three stars up to four or five stars once they "commit" to UT, just all manner of things that make you just scratch your chin and go, "huhh???" How much Brown's desire to "clap the kids" into performing against the stated concerns from within his own staff that the team is too soft and too coddled makes me wonder how much is Mack and how much is "outside influences."

Texas has every reason and resource to expect to be a dominant college football power every year. Yet, for decades, they've been good, at times very good, but with only a single national title since the 60's, and lots of internal coaching turmoil between then and now. The meltdown in Austin is eerily reminiscent of the end of the John Mackovic era, and heck, as I recall, the end of the Fred Akers era was only somewhat less acrimonious.

I'm not even sure a Nick Saban would want to dive into all those "good ol' boy" politics, considering he's essentially king of the CFB world down there in 'Bama, although the rumblings I've read indicate there is at least "listening interest" on his part based on the alleged "feelers" that have been sent out. Who knows how much of that is true, but either way, it makes the observation of Texas football an interesting pastime if you're a fan of the sport of CFB in general.

Soonerdave you are 100% correct about the various factions that have divided the football program at UT.
This has gone on for 2 and now 3 generations... It's been wealthy family’s fighting each other for influence. Any head coach at UT must have the skills necessary to over come it. To Macks credit he did for awhile....He had them all on board and united. Only Royal had ever done it before to any great degree.

Texas lacks no football resource except for the right leadership that would need the guts to stop the feuds....Many look at the resources that Texas has and think that its the best head coaching job in football.... but because of the infighting its actually been a very difficult job much of the time.

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

most people that have cox in Oklahoma do

If you have ever wanted to go to the OU-Texas game and couldn’t get tickets...... this is your year.
Texas fans are starting to unload their tickets and for reasonable prices.

If you have ever wanted to go to the OU-Texas game and couldn’t get tickets...... this is your year.
Texas fans are starting to unload their tickets and for reasonable prices.


Dallas' West End pregame celebration will look like a rawhide--tanned and hung out to dry.

This could be the year that you see a lot of Sooner red with a tsunami flow into the Texas horse-U-shoe section and a sprinkling of empty seats after half time.

The last time I got tickets to an OU-Texas game we gave them a 65-13 beat down!

Remember me and a friend leaving the Cotton Bowl (2003) and OU fans were chanting in unison; Texas fans were actually crying and how well I remember a young lady saying, "I hate Oklahoma." I didn't bite my tongue either and quickly shouted a reply, "We love Texas!"

This year could be painful for the Longhorn Nation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKwwcCpa2Ag

University of Texas regent talked to agent for Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9694474/university-texas-regent-talked-agent-alabama-crimson-tide-coach-nick-saban)


The Associated Press has learned that a University of Texas regent and a former regent spoke with Alabama coach Nick Saban's agent about Saban coaching the Longhorns if Mack Brown retired.

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

It is crap. We need to be making our exit plans now.

University of Texas regent talked to agent for Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9694474/university-texas-regent-talked-agent-alabama-crimson-tide-coach-nick-saban)

Wow. This story is cray cray. Should be retitled: "How to scare away potential new coaching hires." All the dirty laundry and fratricide on display to the whole world before they've conducted a single interview, topped off with UT's biggest donor (and Brown's lawyer) threatening to sue people. Beautiful. What a dysfunctional situation.

As much as it makes me giggle that Texas is circling the drain, it is really not good for OU in the long term.

They are our marquee matchup and rival. When we paste them next month, we might as well be playing Iowa State. It means nothing in the national sense. It makes the whole Big XII look like crap.

Iowa State losing to Northern Iowa, Kansas State losing to North Dakota State as well as Texas losing to BYU clearly shows the BIG 12 is crap.

It is crap. We need to be making our exit plans now.

As long as it is not a move to PAC 12, or whatever they are.

Except nobody gets the Longhorn Network.

For some bizarre reason I get it here in Ohio. I have enjoyed watching it immensely of late, and it's always pure comic gold.

It is very, very well produced...women's vball re-runs in between segments w Mack pleading/graveling for people to still care, including several at his posh residence along some beautiful lake in Austin. My favorite are the segments where current Horns players are forced to listen to an inspirational message from former players.

Actually I lied, my favorite part is whenever Mack talks about still winning the Big 12, as if they could even win a game in the Big 12..

He apparently has a camera crew living w him like Big Brother or something, which would be hilarious if it weren't sad. I think he tried blaming 2011 on the cameras everywhere, he'll prob fall back on that in short order.

Mack will prob stick around just to annoy Nick Saban...my guess

Wow. This story is cray cray. Should be retitled: "How to scare away potential new coaching hires." All the dirty laundry and fratricide on display to the whole world before they've conducted a single interview, topped off with UT's biggest donor (and Brown's lawyer) threatening to sue people. Beautiful. What a dysfunctional situation.

Yeah, well, I hear you, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Our beloved Sooners have had their share of drama over the years. Entire books have been written about the dysfunction of Sooner football in our past. It's all a racket anyway. It damn sure isn't what it once was with true student athletes.

...K-State goes in to the Texas game this week with, if memory serve, a five-game (maybe six?) win streak. This is a weak K-State team by those standards, but a win over Texas this week would be like pouring water on a grease fire. Some big money types have already communicated to relevant "brass" that they're not even bothering with OU-Texas this year; some allegedly have already put out "feelers" to Nick Saban at Bama.

Horrible talent evaluation, too much coach-by-clapping, many folks even up here suspected a big part of Texas' problem was Mack, even to suggest that perhaps he won his 2005 title with Vince Young in spite of himself. Who knows. The consensus, however, is that Mack's waited too long to exit the scene himself, and the bonfire from Austin is only beginning.

http://vonbeau.com/images/uploads/att-red-river-rivalry-tshirt.jpg

As someone mentioned in an earlier post that Saban will nibble on the bait just to get Bama' to up the ante in keeping him there longer.

Mack did sit on the pot too long and he has stunk up the room and there's no spray to clear the air. He may put a muffler on the noise from the sounds of this bad case of diarrhea with a win against Kansas State; if Texas gets another beat-down from Oklahoma--Mack 'wake services' will be held following the game.

Big Tex has seen enough: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQsDLezOzkXnUtsh5ra7HFFHLhqCT4l LmHsRhzL3dMFHK9pFT0

Yeah, well, I hear you, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Our beloved Sooners have had their share of drama over the years. Entire books have been written about the dysfunction of Sooner football in our past. It's all a racket anyway. It damn sure isn't what it once was with true student athletes.

I'm sorry, but did you read my post?

I was referring to the bungled hiring of coaches. Yes, we had our Blake and Schnelly hires, but we also hired Bud, Barry, and Bob, and did so without having big donors freelancing all over the place and airing out our dirty laundry in public.

Actually, the point is that Texas is effing this up, and that's just about it.

Iowa State losing to Northern Iowa, Kansas State losing to North Dakota State as well as Texas losing to BYU clearly shows the BIG 12 is crap.

You know...ND State doesn't bother me as much since they are the two time defending FCS champ...which should be able to be a good number of FBS schools. However the Big 12 is definitely in a very down year.

USA Today does have the conference #4 somehow still...behind SEC, Big Ten, and PAC 12. If someone gets through the Big 12 this year undefeated do they deserve to go to the BCS title game over a 1 loss SEC team? More than likely...No.

I'm sorry, but did you read my post?

I was referring to the bungled hiring of coaches. Yes, we had our Blake and Schnelly hires, but we also hired Bud, Barry, and Bob, and did so without having big donors freelancing all over the place and airing out our dirty laundry in public.

Actually, the point is that Texas is effing this up, and that's just about it.

Don't take it personal, I sure didn't mean it that way! I was simply saying our beloved Sooners once "effed" everything up but good making the covers of all the sports magazines leading to Switzer's leaving OU and the program imploding every bit as much as anything that's happened at Texas so far. More so - I remember it well. Surely you do as well?

We also had our bungling of coaching hires. Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger, John Blake. So, yes, we've been there too. That's my only point. Those were dry years indeed. And Texas has had their periods of great coaches too, Darrell Royal being but one. Fred Akers and Royal back-to-back was nothing but brilliant football.

Of course you're aware that Darrell Royal, and also Colorado's Eddie Crowder, both played for Bud in the late 40s and both took part in that huge streak of wins. At the time I was a student, and accredited to the press box as a photographer for the yearbook, and had the opportunity to watch both of them in action.

Of course you're aware that Darrell Royal, and also Colorado's Eddie Crowder, both played for Bud in the late 40s and both took part in that huge streak of wins. At the time I was a student, and accredited to the press box as a photographer for the yearbook, and had the opportunity to watch both of them in action.

Absolutely! What great memories you must have to be there at the time of true greatness. Funny you mentioned this as I just finished reading an article about Bill Snyder. Talk about a coaching machine. That guy has mentored some of the best.

Definitely great memories. One of my first magazine article sales to really national media was a personality piece on Bud himself, published in Sport Magazine the same month that Esquire came out with its piece about how "700 millionaires" financed the Sooners to their incredible string of victories (which was only around its midpoint at that time). The coach was a true gentleman, in every sense of the word. Incredible as it may seem, he relaxed by playing classical piano -- and was very good at it. His style was so laid back that he would have been invisible in today's scene -- but it was perfect for that time and place.

Don't take it personal, I sure didn't mean it that way! I was simply saying our beloved Sooners once "effed" everything up but good making the covers of all the sports magazines leading to Switzer's leaving OU and the program imploding every bit as much as anything that's happened at Texas so far. More so - I remember it well. Surely you do as well?

We also had our bungling of coaching hires. Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger, John Blake. So, yes, we've been there too. That's my only point. Those were dry years indeed. And Texas has had their periods of great coaches too, Darrell Royal being but one. Fred Akers and Royal back-to-back was nothing but brilliant football.

Not personal at all. The subject wasn't about scandal, it was about the post-modern world and coaching hires. Texas is looking bad in how they're handling it thus far, and it makes me happy we have Boren and Castiglione in charge and we don't have out-of-control big money donors making an embarrassing spectacle of a coaching search. You would think Texas' rich guys would be a little more self aware of how they are actually hurting the program they love.

it makes me happy we have Boren and Castiglione in charge and we don't have out-of-control big money donors making an embarrassing spectacle of a coaching search. You would think Texas' rich guys would be a little more self aware of how they are actually hurting the program they love.Don't get too happy; look at what's happened to the Pride of Oklahoma! We don't have a lot of room to criticize the money folk in Texas...

The subject wasn't about scandal, it was about the post-modern world and coaching hires.

I understand it was about coaching and the trouble Texas is having. These kinds of things happen. To Texas, to OU, to Alabama, it all comes around. Remember 'Bama 2000-2007 or so? The Tide was off the radar after all of their drama with scandal and coaching-go-round. It all comes around. Step back from the past few weeks and of all schools in the NCAA, Texas is a solidly stable athletic program.

By the way, I'm curious what you meant by "it was about the post-modern world and coaching hires." I get the coaching hire problem that every school has at one point or another, but I think this is the first I've ever seen the term "post-modern" used in a discussion about college football.

Wow. This story is cray cray. Should be retitled: "How to scare away potential new coaching hires." All the dirty laundry and fratricide on display to the whole world before they've conducted a single interview, topped off with UT's biggest donor (and Brown's lawyer) threatening to sue people. Beautiful. What a dysfunctional situation.
That is why I have been saying that Mack is there until Red and Joe tell him to leave since they are the two that the admin really listens to, they let the other donors with access to vent and then ignore them. How convenient for Mack that Joe is his attorney.


Not personal at all. The subject wasn't about scandal, it was about the post-modern world and coaching hires. Texas is looking bad in how they're handling it thus far, and it makes me happy we have Boren and Castiglione in charge and we don't have out-of-control big money donors making an embarrassing spectacle of a coaching search. You would think Texas' rich guys would be a little more self aware of how they are actually hurting the program they love.
Joe and Red are 86/87, they aren't going to be around a whole lot longer. They just don't tend to be as public as Boone but then he doesn't really say too much stupid stuff to the media.

There is way to much ego for some of those folks to ever stay silent
Some of the biggest biggest big cigar problem makers for UT sit on their board of regents.

It is crap. We need to be making our exit plans now.

We needed to do that in 2010.

We needed to do that in 2010.

Oh so true... Most people want Oklahoma & Oklahoma State in the same league. This was the big push the Texas legislature had about Texas & Texas A&M. Being in separate leagues wouldn't stop the Bedlam Rivary?

We needed to do that in 2010.

Agreed. At some point opportunity may come up for OU -- without OSU. OU needs to act in its best interest.

Not personal at all. The subject wasn't about scandal, it was about the post-modern world and coaching hires. Texas is looking bad in how they're handling it thus far, and it makes me happy we have Boren and Castiglione in charge and we don't have out-of-control big money donors making an embarrassing spectacle of a coaching search. You would think Texas' rich guys would be a little more self aware of how they are actually hurting the program they love.

Sounds like the realignment possibility are stirring again with rumors that the big Texas cigars are not happy with their leaderships decision to stay in the Big 12 and not move to the PAC.
Texas is insisting that they take Tech and OU and the PAC is insisting on KU according to the rumors.
They would be added to a western divission of the PAC with ASU, U of A, Utah and CU.

Sounds like the realignment possibility are stirring again with rumors that the big Texas cigars are not happy with their leaderships decision to stay in the Big 12 and not move to the PAC.
Texas is insisting that they take Tech and OU and the PAC is insisting on KU according to the rumors.
They would be added to a western divission of the PAC with ASU, U of A, Utah and CU.

Now is the time to stop the pretension of "student athletes" and move toward a semi-pro system with paying players and treating it like the business it is anyway.

The easiest way to fix the whole situation with college football is to quit worrying about where the money comes from. Require each athlete to report everything to accounting firm and the accounting firm reports it to the IRS. Just like employers do. Require the players to produce a 1099 for everything they receive. If the players don't produce tax paperwork, they get turned over to the IRS. The problem will solve it self because the booster and fans will not want the IRS sniffing in their finances.

The easiest way to fix the whole situation with college football is to quit worrying about where the money comes from. Require each athlete to report everything to accounting firm and the accounting firm reports it to the IRS. Just like employers do. Require the players to produce a 1099 for everything they receive. If the players don't produce tax paperwork, they get turned over to the IRS. The problem will solve it self because the booster and fans will not want the IRS sniffing in their finances.

Not that simple, because the problem you address is just the booster side (where's the money coming from). Even if you take away the "evil booster" problem, you still have the intractable funding equity issue, because so long as Title IX exists, any school-proffered mechanism that allows money to flow directly to student-athletes for football will, in turn, mandate that the same money be routed to every other sport the school hosts. That's why there was so much resistance to the NCAA proposal for an "additional stipend" for football players because most schools haven't the slightest hope of financing it across the board to the other, non-revenue-producing sports.

That's is why you divorce the athletic program from the school and then all the federal regulation and NCCA rules goes away. Then the team just pays a licensing fee to use the schools name.

That's is why you divorce the athletic program from the school and then all the federal regulation and NCCA rules goes away. Then the team just pays a licensing fee to use the schools name.

The NCAA regulation doesn't go away if they prohibit schools whose athletic programs are not organized that way from competing with those who are. Besides, the non-revenue-generating sports aren't going to get shadow operating entities to "purchase" them.

That's is why you divorce the athletic program from the school and then all the federal regulation and NCAA rules goes away. Then the team just pays a licensing fee to use the schools name.

Would the NFL ever go for that? I'll bet they'd try very hard to stop it.

Mack Brown's coaching career is on life support as the University of Texas Longhorns dodged a bullet defeating Iowa State Cyclones 31-30 with 51 seconds to go in the game. --The Texans Longhorns survived a scare against the Iowa State Cyclones, winning 31-30. However, it was an ugly game, and the Longhorns got away with a rather controversial win.


Texas vs. Iowa State: Score, Analysis as Cyclones Put Longhorns on Upset Alert | Bleacher Report (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1797936-texas-vs-iowa-state-score-analysis-as-cyclones-put-longhorns-on-upset-alert)


Texas will take a 3-2 record into the Red River Rivarly.

Mack Brown's coaching career is on life support as the University of Texas Longhorns dodged a bullet defeating Iowa State Cyclones 31-30 with 51 seconds to go in the game. --The Texans Longhorns survived a scare against the Iowa State Cyclones, winning 31-30. However, it was an ugly game, and the Longhorns got away with a rather controversial win.


Texas vs. Iowa State: Score, Analysis as Cyclones Put Longhorns on Upset Alert | Bleacher Report (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1797936-texas-vs-iowa-state-score-analysis-as-cyclones-put-longhorns-on-upset-alert)


Texas will take a 3-2 record into the Red River Rivarly.

All personal Texas animus aside, that was one of the most asinine final drives I've seen in years of watching CFB.

Texas had four second-half drives that ended thusly: Punt, Punt, Fumble, Punt. Their very last drive was aided by not one, not two, but three pass interference calls and a "grabbing the opening of the helmet" personal foul penalty. Setting half-the-distance elements aside, that's 60 yards in penalties, plus a perfectly legitimate strip of the ball at the one-yard-line from a running back fully one, if not two seconds before any whistles blew that the officials simply ignored.

The strip/fumble non-call was eerily similar to the way OSU got jobbed last year against....Texas.

No one really likes to believe that refs would really want one team over another to win. That's stuff of paranoid conspiracy theories and spinny-head "aliens are after" me stuff.

But, man, nearly identical situations in critical games two years in a row, all to the benefit of the same team, after a long drive where penalties even got them there in the first place. At some point, it starts to get hard not to don the propeller head.

Let's put it a different way. Same kind of game, same situation: I don't think one school in 100 gets that same sequence of calls. Perhaps its a first-cousin to the fact that NBA stars never get called for traveling in the lane when driving to the basket. If you're Texas, you can drive the lane. A lot.

ISU coach Paul Rhoads was livid after the game. He spoke his mind, and said he "didn't care what the Big 12 office thought about it." I heard what he said, and thought it was very apropos in context. He was focused on his kids that had a win quite literally taken away from them. "Your kids make a play at the goal line with their backs to the wall, and the refs take it away from you." Great line.

I have lost most interest in college football and have only watched parts of 7 Big XII games this year and it seems to me that BIG XII officiating is much worse than it ever was before. Conspiracy theories at least would provide a reasonable excuse - I think they are simply bad. On the goal line the whistle blew a full second after ISU had the ball. If anything, it should have been ISU ball at the 3 yard line - where the runner was when the whistle blew. Of course, the ISU played had an open field with no one in pursuit when the whistle blew so some could argue ISU should either get a touchdown or have the ball placed at the Texas 1 yard line. What is the point in having instant replay if you don't trust it?

For those that missed it..

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I have lost most interest in college football and have only watched parts of 7 Big XII games this year and it seems to me that BIG XII officiating is much worse than it ever was before. Conspiracy theories at least would provide a reasonable excuse - I think they are simply bad. On the goal line the whistle blew a full second after ISU had the ball. If anything, it should have been ISU ball at the 6 yard line - where the runner was when the whistle blew. Of course, the ISU played had an open field with no one in pursuit when the whistle blew so some could argue ISU should either get a touchdown or have the ball placed at the Texas 1 yard line. What is the point in having instant replay if you don't trust it?

George Schroeder asked a very salient question about the replay official: Does the replay contain audio, or is it video only? If it had audio, including the whistle, then the fact the strip was still disallowed is beyond ridiculous.

If it is video only then it should have been ruled a fumble - because if all you have to look at is video the ISU player had the ball.

As much of an embarassment to the Big12 as the OU-Oregon game was a few years ago to PAC12 officiating

No one can touch the PAC 12 on poor officiating. They are literally in a league of their own on that subject.

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As much of an embarassment to the Big12 as the OU-Oregon game was a few years ago to PAC12 officiating

And that doesn't even address the cheap-shot leg block that Texas' WR Mike Davis pulled...which Mack actually defended in his post-game presser. The guy was actually so giddy you'd think he'd just won the SuperBowl rather than having just had a win gift-wrapped to him by the refs against one of the worst teams in the conference.

This conference is an absolute debacle. And the whole CFB world got to see it in full color last night. What a joke...Big 12 is a laughingstock.

I'm not going to delve into conspiracy theories regarding Texas' last drive. I will say all 3 pass interference calls were legit and while the other 2 calls were more questionable, they were still tough calls. They have gone either way, but the fact that they both went Texas' way looks pretty bad.

Re-watching the strip play it seems the whistle blew maybe a split second after ISU's player had the ball, but it was pretty darn close. I'm not seeing/hearing it as being as obvious of a terrible call as some are saying. Just my opinion.

And that doesn't even address the cheap-shot leg block that Texas' WR Mike Davis pulled...which Mack actually defended in his post-game presser. The guy was actually so giddy you'd think he'd just won the SuperBowl rather than having just had a win gift-wrapped to him by the refs against one of the worst teams in the conference.

This conference is an absolute debacle. And the whole CFB world got to see it in full color last night. What a joke...Big 12 is a laughingstock.

Mike Davis should be suspended for a game. He could have caused a serious injury.

Everyone seems to be overreacting a bit. When has there not been bad officiating? Take a look through history and you'll see consistent controversies. Being a ref is a very difficult job. I'll bet if anyone on this board tried it you would be called out as being part of a conspiracy at some point. Bad calls happen. Most of the calls on ISU's final drive were very close. While the Big 12 is down this year (these things have always been cyclical), they're not a laughingstock. Every conference has examples of bad officiating.

In the case of the Texas/ISU game - no doubt it was a tough call to make, but that is why we have instant review. the ref blew the whistle which stopped the play - but ISU already had the ball. It is plain as day on the review. Whomever the review official is should have made the correct call. It isn't a bang-bang play for him. He has all the time in the world and 20 angles to see it from. ISU ball at the 3 yard line.

As for Oregon/USC game I linked to - that official should have been fired on the spot and the game delayed until a replacement official could be found.

I don't think it's as clear as you make it seem, but maybe you'd be a better ref than me. :)

Sadly - the video posted above doesn't include the replays ESPN showed on the live broadcast - but on the live broadcast the whistle blows and you can easily hear it - but the ISU player already had the ball at that time. Anyhow, it doesn't matter now but if we are going to have instant replay let's at least trust it. The whole "there might have been another whistle the audio didn't pick-up" argument postulated last night is hog-wash. There is a lot of stuff the video doesn't pick up either but we don't just assume it happened because we didn't see it NOT happen.

I don't think it's as clear as you make it seem, but maybe you'd be a better ref than me. :)

dan,

JTF hit the nail on the head. The replay with audio clearly indicates that no whistle blew until well after the strip occurred. I think that's the whole point - the kid was not "down by contact," he was still driving, no refs are running in from the sidelines as if to call forward progress, and the ISU guy simply walks up and rips the ball from him...And after that, the whistle is blown, and the ref says "down by contact."

Huh?? His knee never even went down.

Even if, arguendo, you think the DPI calls weren't so bad, would you be willing to offer that two of the three were "50/50 balls?" That is, in most other games, do you think they'd have called the same penalty? That was the point I was trying to make about UT getting all three DPI calls. One, sure. Two, ooookay... But all three?? Wow.

And I have no problem standing behind my assertion that the conference is a laughingstock, not just for its officiating, but just in general.