It's December 15, 2013 and the NCAA Football offseason is already in swing. And yes, Bowl Season has not even started. (BTW Fresno State vs. USC will go down on December 21st and it's going to be amazing).
First off - Congrats to Jameis Winston for winning the 2013 Heisman Trophy. There's no doubt Famous Jameis was dynamic and amazing as a RS Freshman playing at FSU. His stats are worthy of the Heisman and I'm not going to argue the win, but lets just remember who the finalists were this year. Just remember to Google that in the future. Oh and the sexual assault allegation.
Second - As previously reported, Mack Brown resigned today. This is a week in the making and was reported before Brown wiped his ass after his morning poop on Monday the 9th. Yes, the pooh-poohing began earlier this week, but we all knew it was coming. Mack is a well-respected person (1st) and coach (2nd) around the country but it got to the point where he was fighting a losing battle. The University of Texas is a beast amongst itself - large athletic budgets, high expectations, oh and their own effin' TV network. The odds are against any high profile coach there. (Rick Barnes - get ready...it's coming). Mack did what he had to do - resign (not on his own terms) and get out while he could. The large contingent was calling for his head early in the 2013 season, but he rebounded and lead his team to a respectable 8-4 season. However, 8 wins a season is not acceptable at UT. Mack knew that and he would be the first to admit some QB recruiting mistakes that lead to the disappointing finishes. But coaches at UT don't have the luxury of missing high profile recruits. The crappy part about this whole situation is that a nice guy and a national championship winner could not go out on his own terms. If anyone doesn't remember that Texas-USC championship game years ago, take it from me, it was epic. Vince Young vs. Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart. Great football...great ending. Mack - I wish the best for you and I respect the way you had to resign with everything in your grill.
Now - who replaces Mack? Saban just re-signed with Alabama at over 7.5 million per year! That's Super Bowl winning Coach money. Congrats Nick, you have once again raised the bar. Every new high profile coaching gig will be measured against the Nick Saban template. No disrespect to Nick, he has the track record (Dolphins...eh, not so much). So who does Texas focus their search on? New TX AD Patterson has his work cut out for him. He needs a coach with energy and clout to get back to the 10 win level ASAP. Is that David Shaw from Stanford? Is that James Franklin from Vandy? Is that an NFL coach? Texas has the money to pay any buyout that exists on ALL football contracts. They'll get the guy they want. Keep an eye on Shaw, Gundy in OK State, Gus Malzahn at Auburn, Jimbo Fisher at FSU (if he wins the BCS title, don't bother), and Bill O'Brien at Penn State. Texas will want to make an impact so don't be surprised if any coach who just re-upped at their school leaves and the buyout is paid out.
At the very least, the offseason has started and what a great day for all of this to happen.
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