Mack Brown is stepping down as the coach of the Texas Longhorns, according to Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com. Texas is 8-4 this season after a 30-10 loss to Baylor over the weekend. The Longhorns will face Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30. Brown is expected to make the announcement by the end of this week.
“Mack Brown loves Texas and wants what’s in the best interest of Texas and what’s in the best interest of Mack Brown,” a high-level source reportedly told Orangebloods.com. “I don’t think it’s been an easy decision. But he doesn’t want negativity around the program he helped unify.”
Last week, a report from Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel indicated that Brown was likely to step down.
The 62-year-old is expected to coach in the Alamo Bowl, which will cap off his 16-year career as the head coach of the Longhorns. His 158 wins are second only to Darrell Royal, who had 167 wins in his career at Texas.
Brown is under contract through 2020, but he will reportedly receive a $2.75 million buyout and other considerations. His contract states that he is to be “reassigned to another significant position” within UT’s athletic department if he voluntarily relinquishes his duties as head coach. That position would pay an annual salary of $500,000.
Since losing to Alabama in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, Texas has gone 30-20 and not exactly been the national powerhouse Brown had built in the earlier part of the 21st century. Brown won a national championship with the Longhorns in 2005, which was the school’s first title since 1970.
This was seemingly the best outcome for all parties involved. While it’s difficult for any coach to “step down,” it’s better for Brown and the school to have the relationship end mutually. No one wants to fire one of the greatest coaches in school history, and Texas is clearly ready to move on.
