Putting the Saban deal to bed, once and for all

[Sirhornsalot]

Powers was on board the first time. FYI. Relunctantly so, but nevertheless, he stood down. The second time (after Mack's tirade) never really got off the ground.

Fisher gave Patterson reason to believe it could work (Fisher to Texas), hence his desire to continue talking. Saban was out by then.

There was a vote taken either in late december or early January. Powers was not put up for a vote, but other BOR were. Lots of BMDs wanted to have another meeting and oust Powers after Strong was hired. They felt deceived.

 

[Topstarr]

well it is all over and new moon is full.

 

[Randolph Duke]

Powers was on board the first time. FYI. Relunctantly so, but nevertheless, he stood down. The second time (after Mack's tirade) never really got off the ground.
Fisher gave Patterson reason to believe it could work (Fisher to Texas), hence his desire to continue talking. Saban was out by then.

There was a vote taken either in late december or early January. Powers was not put up for a vote, but other BOR were. Lots of BMDs wanted to have another meeting and oust Powers after Strong was hired. They felt deceived.

After the legislature gave Bill Powers their support and especially after the legislature started the impeachment process against Hall there was no way on God's green earth any donors to the football program were going to oust Bill Powers because he didn't hire the football coach the money guys wanted.

The legislature giving Bill Powers their support was a fight between the leg and the governor that will have effects well past any of our lives and our children's lives. There is simply no way the big donors to the football program were going to throw around more weight than the state legislature and insist Bill Powers be fired when the leg had said he stays right where he is. No BMD is going to pick a fight with the collective legislature because of a football coach. Bill Powers could have hired RuPaul to coach the UT football program and he would have kept his job.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Not so fast. Bor was one vote away from powers having a real problem - leaverage that was employed up until the bor meeting.

 

[Randolph Duke]

Not so fast. Bor was one vote away from powers having a real problem - leaverage that was employed up until the bor meeting.

The collective legislature had just made it clear to the sitting governor and to the BOR that Bill Powers was going to stay exactly where he was. If the BOR had fired Bill Powers because he didn't hire the preferred football coach of 5 wealthy donors, all hell would have broken loose. The legislature wasn't going to back down and they weren't going to have their will overridden by any money guys. The president of UT and the Regents answer to the legislature. If the BMDs wanted to pick a power play with the legislature, I assure you the legislature would have won and every Regent who gave the finger to the legislature and voted to fire Bill Powers would regret their vote in short order.

In the middle of a big power fight between the governor and the legislature when the legislature had spoken with a clear collective voice on the issue of the president of UT's job security, they weren't about to have their will overridden by anyone.A BMD can piss off an individual member of the legislature, but the collective voice of the legislature is not something any one individual or any five individuals wants to take on. There are not five billionaires on this planet that will win a fight against any collective legislative body of the scale of the Texas state legislature.

 

[Tlouhorn]

Regardless, I feel we are better off! Some sort of change had to be made...

 

[Randolph Duke]

Regardless, I feel we are better off! Some sort of change had to be made...

Absolutely! One only had to go to a game at DKR to understand Mack had lost the support of the alumni. The reason the atmosphere was so dead is that people had emotionally checked out.

I just can't imagine Mack didn't comprehend the fans were no longer emotionally connected to the program. Exactly when the fans checked out of what Mack had built isn't as easy to pinpoint as when the fans checked out of Mackovic's program, but the vote of no confidence was no less unquestionable.

What I don't get with Mack is his perceived petulance on the way out the door. Austin/Round Rock is larger than San Francisco (1.75 mil). Projections are for another million people to move to the area by 2030. There were tens of millions of dollars just waiting for Mack to harvest. I am shocked he didn't do a marketing deal to create "Mack Brown's Texas Steakhouse" and get the university to do a rotating exhibit of the UT sports trophies in his steakhouse, with former players invited to eat gratis (or hired to help run the place) and be a "must see" destination for every alumni and sports fan visiting Austin. I have never seen any of the UT sports trophies. Having a "Taj Mahal" of steak, UT sports and an overpriced wine list would have made Mack millions and would have earned UT enormous goodwill from the faithful who just want a destination restaurant in the city.

Mack was in the perfect position to be the ultimate supporter of UT sports and he screwed the whole thing up. I just don't get that.

 

[DocHorn]

Absolutely! One only had to go to a game at DKR to understand Mack had lost the support of the alumni. The reason the atmosphere was so dead is that people had emotionally checked out.
I just can't imagine Mack didn't comprehend the fans were no longer emotionally connected to the program. Exactly when the fans checked out of what Mack had built isn't as easy to pinpoint as when the fans checked out of Mackovic's program, but the vote of no confidence was no less unquestionable.

What I don't get with Mack is his perceived petulance on the way out the door. Austin/Round Rock is larger than San Francisco (1.75 mil). Projections are for another million people to move to the area by 2030. There were tens of millions of dollars just waiting for Mack to harvest. I am shocked he didn't do a marketing deal to create "Mack Brown's Texas Steakhouse" and get the university to do a rotating exhibit of the UT sports trophies in his steakhouse, with former players invited to eat gratis (or hired to help run the place) and be a "must see" destination for every alumni and sports fan visiting Austin. I have never seen any of the UT sports trophies. Having a "Taj Mahal" of steak, UT sports and an overpriced wine list would have made Mack millions and would have earned UT enormous goodwill from the faithful who just want a destination restaurant in the city.

Mack was in the perfect position to be the ultimate supporter of UT sports and he screwed the whole thing up. I just don't get that.

Mack clearly was delusional. Once he won a MNC and then went back again after 2009 he was both heartbroken when Colt went down, and at the same time felt bulletproof and mentored an entitlement philosophy that started in his office.

He has been disconnected from the fan base and doesn't realize how polarizing he had become. Nor does he realize how angry most of the fan base is with him for allowing the decay in the program.

He stopped doing a good job and perhaps even now, he doesn't know how bad of a job he was doing.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

The collective legislature had just made it clear to the sitting governor and to the BOR that Bill Powers was going to stay exactly where he was. If the BOR had fired Bill Powers because he didn't hire the preferred football coach of 5 wealthy donors, all hell would have broken loose. The legislature wasn't going to back down and they weren't going to have their will overridden by any money guys. The president of UT and the Regents answer to the legislature. If the BMDs wanted to pick a power play with the legislature, I assure you the legislature would have won and every Regent who gave the finger to the legislature and voted to fire Bill Powers would regret their vote in short order.
In the middle of a big power fight between the governor and the legislature when the legislature had spoken with a clear collective voice on the issue of the president of UT's job security, they weren't about to have their will overridden by anyone.A BMD can piss off an individual member of the legislature, but the collective voice of the legislature is not something any one individual or any five individuals wants to take on. There are not five billionaires on this planet that will win a fight against any collective legislative body of the scale of the Texas state legislature.

You're free to think this out as far as you like. I was fortunate to witness a lot of what I am saying through what transpired with both Jesus Shuttlesworth and also our own McPhaul to some extent. They both dealt with BMDs during the time and this is the info they were getting.

BMDs worth millions and donating millions do have ways of getting things done, and Powers assurance that you speak of is after the period I'm speaking of, though I will not buy the idea that the whole legislature was in on it. They can't much done when they absolutely have to, yet we're to believe they can accomplish that on the fly, despite there being many of them who hold no real allegiance to UT. I'm saying I don't seriously think there is a collective voice of the legislature, especially when the one who's posing a threat is a republican governor. While I agree a billionaire won't win a fight, they'll certainly cause all kinds of damage until a such point the clumsy and slow legislature can get it's act together and be united on something, which they seldom are.

 

[Anubis]

What I don't understand was why Mack chose to act the way he did on his way out the door. If Powers was dead set against Saban, why did Mack get Jamail all fired up and why did Mack end up blowing whatever goodwill he had with the fanbase? His actions on the way out the door cost him millions in endorsement and other business deals. I absolutely do not understand why he acted the way he did.

Ah yes, it doesn't at all make sense, does it? So either you've got a story that doesn't at all make sense, particularly considering what we've seen from Mack for 16 years . . . or you've been reading a bunch of bullshit. The reading a bunch of bullshit story makes sense to me.

 

[coolhorn]

Longevity is the last reason we should hire a coach. I don't really want a coach more than 10 years anyway. If Saban could have given us even 6 strong years that would have been a successful hire.

I don't have the problem with longevity that some folks have, with the provision that the head coach isn't on cruise control after a few years, or confuses himself with BEING the program. I don't want the head football coaching job at UT to start looking like a banana republic where old coaches get fired and new ones hired every two or three years or so. That would make UT look too much like that farm school a hundred miles east of Austin.

 

[pianoboe]

I can't wait until someone who knows what really went on writes a book about all this in 10-15 years. I know I will buy it!

 

[86MEHorn]

True enough, Strong is our coach. He deserves a unified backing. But, if we had a chance at Saban and didn't make it happen, that's simply shame on us, IMO. Regarding the issue of race, I do think it probably factored in to some degree. Though it can't be proven, I think Strong doesn't get the job without Sumlin's success at aNm. But to bring up race as an issue is insulting to Strong, I think. It doesn't really make a difference at this point.

I like the Strong hire, although I admit I was "meh" when he was announced. He seems to have a good balance of expectations from a student-athlete that I don't get from Saban. Maybe Saban would have been successful from name recognition alone. But at the same time, he is a poster child for the SEC. I don't see how we can have threads wanting Patterson to use the LHN etc. to go after the SEC in Texas and supposed Fed Ex envelopes by the Aggies...and at the same time endorse Saban. Let's get behind what we think UT stands for, and go full throttle.

 

[xeno]

Yes, I know we have a head coach and his name is Strong. Hallelujah, I couldn't be happier.
However, and on another site, the argument rages on as to how close Saban was to getting the job.

I'm privy to a little inside info now and then and I HAVE BEEN TOLD that Saban to UT was dead in the water the moment Powers found out a rogue regent and a BMD were attempting a coaching coup, behind his back.

At that point, and if he were still alive and under the same circumstances, Powers would not have allowed Vince Lombardi to be hired.

It IS true that Saban was interested in the job and more than one BMD thought he was going to be delivered because of it. A lot of people were excited about that, but they weren't paying attention to what was coming out of the presidents office, evidently.

It's really no more complicated then that.

Hiring Charlie Strong, because he was black, is a ridiculous (and insulting) rumor as well. I HAVE BEEN TOLD, it was simply not the reason - so that can be put to bed also.

Edited - per bold part.

Since you were told he wasn't hired because he would be the first black football HC at Texas, we know it is true. Right? Austin is heavily PC - this is a PC, "first" hire. Never believe what you are told, there is always an "axe to grind". That is, a hidden agenda. Powers is a left-wing liberal elite, wanted to counter ATM's black hire and avoid Mack's infantile lawsuit BS. Sad.

 

[Watson]

Going to agree to most of that, but disagree with some of it.
Saban was indeed in play. Where you're wrong is that Powers had the real ability to stop it. I know there were a carload of very well positioned BMDs who had a chain around Powers neck - pointing to a vote that happened in December. Powers was told if he wanted to hang around, be a good soldier and stand down.

Where the wheels fell off the Saban deal was because Mack made threats of tampering lawsuits against Sexton, hence the reason Patterson really didn't want to hire a Sexton client. Patterson tried to talk to Fisher and skip past Sexton, but Fisher directed Patt back to Sexton instead. That's what killed the Fisher deal.

So Patterson did the smart thing and avoided the possibility of taking Texas into some sort of controversy surrounded by lawsuits, no way to start building a program. Patterson was right. He made the right hire. And he will look like a genius in a year or two.

Sirhornsalot's account of events is close to what I've had confirmed by 2 members of the Selection Committee. Apparently there are some who still want to spin events to cover for the UT Administration, but sources involved in the process say the Rowling-Hicks-Stilwell BMD group was driving affairs, and Bill Powers was obliged to concur. This is clearly evident from actual events, when Powers was called on the carpet by the BMDs following the football banquet, and reluctantly made a complete about-face on Mack and had him resign immediately.

 

Although Saban and Jimbo Fisher were both highly interested, Patterson was increasingly turned-off by their agent Jimmy Sexton. Patterson was able to persuade the Rowling-Hicks-Stillwell group that Strong was just as attractive with less hassle, and all knew Texas couldn't delay further after Powers' procrastination.

 

Powers' bungling of Mack's resignation provides a telling example of why coaching decisions should not be in the hands of a university president. Unfortunately, when the governor appoints an ineffictive, fractured board of regents, the decision falls on an academician unqualified to handle the job.

 

[CCausey11]

Powers' bungling of Mack's resignation provides a telling example of why coaching decisions should not be in the hands of a university president. Unfortunately, when the governor appoints an ineffictive, fractured board of regents, the decision falls on an academician unqualified to handle the job.[/font]

The situation also shows why BMD's should not be allowed to go rogue and make coaching "hires" on their own. They were as out line as Powers, they reek of the lame Auburn situation with Petrino a few years ago. Didn't work out then, didn't work out here. The only reason they almost pulled it off was a weak AD who knew he was gone and didn't care. A strong AD would have never stood for the move they made and I think Patterson had to re-align their thought process after the muck they created. Hopefully everyone is on the same page now and we move forward from the mess that Mack has left us.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

The situation also shows why BMD's should not be allowed to go rogue and make coaching "hires" on their own. They were as out line as Powers, they reek of the lame Auburn situation with Petrino a few years ago. Didn't work out then, didn't work out here. The only reason they almost pulled it off was a weak AD who knew he was gone and didn't care. A strong AD would have never stood for the move they made and I think Patterson had to re-align their thought process after the muck they created. Hopefully everyone is on the same page now and we move forward from the mess that Mack has left us.

Agreed.

I think the Strong hire cements Patterson's role as "the man in charge", going forward. I'm encouraged that he was able to convince the BMD's that Strong is the right man for the job. I don't think the hire was necessarily "PC motivated", but there could be some underlying truth to it.

Regardless of ethnicity, I believe Coach Strong can get it done. His work ethic is second to none and he wanted to be here at The University.

#OldSchoolBrother > #HipHopCoach

#LetsRide \m/

 

[Watson]

Powers' bungling of Mack's resignation provides a telling example of why coaching decisions should not be in the hands of a university president. Unfortunately, when the governor appoints an ineffictive, fractured board of regents, the decision falls on an academician unqualified to handle the job.[/font]

The situation also shows why BMD's should not be allowed to go rogue and make coaching "hires" on their own. They were as out line as Powers, they reek of the lame Auburn situation with Petrino a few years ago. Didn't work out then, didn't work out here. The only reason they almost pulled it off was a weak AD who knew he was gone and didn't care. A strong AD would have never stood for the move they made and I think Patterson had to re-align their thought process after the muck they created. Hopefully everyone is on the same page now and we move forward from the mess that Mack has left us.

Sounds like propaganda from a Mack Brown cronie or a Bellmont Hall bureaucrat.

Mack's apoligists and members of the UT bureaucracy try to propagandize the BMDs seeking to change athletics at UT as "rogue". The real hiring/firing sea changes of ousting the entrenched AD and head coach were driven by a powerful group of BMDs, including 2 regents who backed Powers. Without those BMDs, Texas would still be stuck with Mack as our coach, facing another failed season, and DeLoss and Powers reluctant to do anything about it. The BMD group who brought us Strong and Patterson not only weren't "rogue" in any sense of the word, it was through their political protection that Bill Powers was kept from being fired. We all owe those guys a debt of gratitude for taking their time to get Texas back on track.

 

[DocHorn]

The situation also shows why BMD's should not be allowed to go rogue and make coaching "hires" on their own. They were as out line as Powers, they reek of the lame Auburn situation with Petrino a few years ago. Didn't work out then, didn't work out here. The only reason they almost pulled it off was a weak AD who knew he was gone and didn't care. A strong AD would have never stood for the move they made and I think Patterson had to re-align their thought process after the muck they created. Hopefully everyone is on the same page now and we move forward from the mess that Mack has left us.

Sounds like propaganda from a Mack Brown cronie or a Bellmont Hall bureaucrat.

Mack's apoligists and members of the UT bureaucracy try to propagandize the BMDs seeking to change athletics at UT as "rogue". The real hiring/firing sea changes of ousting the entrenched AD and head coach were driven by a powerful group of BMDs, including 2 regents who backed Powers. Without those BMDs, Texas would still be stuck with Mack as our coach, facing another failed season, and DeLoss and Powers reluctant to do anything about it. The BMD group who brought us Strong and Patterson not only weren't "rogue" in any sense of the word, it was through their political protection that Bill Powers was kept from being fired. We all owe those guys a debt of gratitude for taking their time to get Texas back on track.

Well, we all hope we are back on track. It will take a year or two to know that

 

[streettopeschel]

Put me in the camp that's glad we didn't hire saban. Had a hired gun/mercenary feel to it that just didnt pass my smell test.

I'm man-crushing C Strong right now. Hope I'm right.