Update 10:02AM: As expected, the Texas board of regents approved Mack Brown’s contract extension (details below). As I explain in full detail below, the move is completely foolish as far as setting the bar at Texas over the next several seasons, but it looks like the board is covering its ass by changing the buyout of Brown’s contract if he’s fired next season. His buyout would only be $3.5 million if fired this year, barring a winless season. By 2017 it drops to only $2 million.
So much for speculation about Mack Brown being close to retirement. In response to those inaccurate rumors, Longhorns AD DeLoss Dodds (below) is calling for a contract extension for the 60-year old Texas head coach. The agenda for tonight’s call has one item on it and it is as follows:
“Discussion and appropriate action regarding changes to current contract, including a proposed change in the current contract term, for Head Men’s Football Coach William Mack Brown.”
Texas’ Board of Regents will have a conference call to discuss the extension,
bloomberg.com
which the Austin American-Statesman reports will add four years to his existing deal that would run through 2020. It is important to note that as it stands now, they don’t plan to give him a raise. Brown’s current contract, which was negotiated in December ’09, goes through the 2016 season and is worth $5.2 million making him the highest paid coach in Div-1 football this past season. The Statesman also reiterated a clause in the contract does call for a $100,000 annual raise as per the current deal.
The timing of the extension is a bit odd if you ask me. I would argue it would be a foolish contract extension by a blind Board of Regents. Brown is going into his 15th season as the Longhorns head coach and his best days are sadly behind him. Since Texas’ 13-win season 2009, the Longhorns have gone 5-7 and 8-5 for a combined 13-12. I’m not saying Brown isn’t capable of coaching anymore, but that sort of mediocrity isn’t going to cut it in Austin. The Longhorn tradition expects more.
texasexes.org
How patient is Texas going to be to see results again? Is DeLoss Dodds merely prolonging his tenure as AD by extending Brown (left) who is likely to become the next AD? Brown has only two conference championships in 14 years, in a Big 12 conference where UT should be a contender every season, not to mention the best recruiting access in all of Texas. If you take out the Vince Young years, Texas as to ask itself how valuable this guy has really been to their program. Its not like he’s a flight risk to another program. Nobody is going to pay Brown the sort of money that UT does. At the end of the day this just sounds like a recruiting press release to me.
Click here to check out the highest paid coaches in college football.
Raju Kansagra
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