Texas Longhorns: This weekend will be a pivotal moment in Mack Brown's career

By Marian Hinton
Brendan Maloney: US Presswire

There is no one in the entire sports world that I envied less this week than Texas Longhorns head-coach Mack Brown. It was Brown, after all, who had to answer for the humiliating debacle that occurred in Dallas over the weekend as his Longhorns were embarrassed by their arch-rival Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday afternoon.

What makes the loss more difficult for Texas fans to stomach is that it appeared that the team simply wasn’t prepared from the very beginning–even worse, they just quit. And unfortunately, it isn’t the first time this has happened to the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry under Mack Brown.

Immediately after the game, or more specifically at the end of the first quarter, Orangebloods all over were immediately calling for the firing of Mack Brown. The fan-base was divided between those who wanted him gone at the end of the season, and those who wanted him gone that very day.

Make no mistake: Mack Brown has done so much for The University of Texas. After all, he is the man responsible for rebuilding the Longhorns back into a National Powerhouse. He reawakened the sleeping giant. He brought in the top talent in the nation. He led the Horns to their first National Title in over 30 years. He raised the level of expectations; under Mack, 10 win seasons were not great seasons. They were expected, and anything less was a failure.

Most fans will tell you that there couldn’t be a better man representing The University, and they would be 100% correct.

Just three seasons ago, the Longhorns were playing in their second National Title game under Mack Brown. Since that time, the Longhorns have been in a free fall–at least by the standards that Mack Brown himself set for his program.

And just when it appeared that Texas was on their way back to the top, Dallas happened.

Three seasons of frustration reached a fever pitch in Dallas on Saturday against the Sooners, and Texas fans are not exactly a patient ,or even a reasonable, bunch when it comes to their football.

They are furious. They are tired of losing. Will Mack Brown be able to win back the fans?

This weekend is an absolutely pivotal moment in Mack Brown’s career as his team tries to regroup and take on the Baylor Bears and their explosive offense.

Another loss and things will get very, very ugly for Coach Brown in Austin. That is certain.

What is not certain, however, is if a win over the Bears will even be enough to make Texas fans forget the sting of the last couple of seasons.

Something tells me it’s going to take a lot more than a single victory.

Most reasonable fans will tell you that Mack Brown has done too much for the program to leave on anything other than his own terms, but will he be able to turn things around in time to save his legacy, before he decides to head off into the sunset?

 

 

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