Over the weekend, Mack Brown resigned as Texas coach, and Nick Saban put an end to rumors that he would replace Brown by agreeing to a long-term contract extension with Alabama.
Where do the Longhorns go from here, and who would you target to be their next coach?
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- Chase Goodbread College Football 24/7
Georgia Tech's Johnson brings surprise element
All the early-buzz candidates for the UT job -- Vanderbilt's James Franklin, Auburn's Gus Malzahn, Louisville's Charlie Strong and Baylor's Art Briles -- are good coaches who would succeed. And those names are all way more hot than Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech. But if new athletic director Steve Patterson is looking for someone nobody is expecting, Johnson's worth a peek. The triple-option offense would catch Big 12 defenses completely off-guard and would be a nightmare to prepare for in a league full of passing offenses. Yes, it might be tough to recruit five-star quarterback prospects, but the five-star running backs would flock to Austin in droves. It won't happen, of course. Texas doesn't have the guts to go old-school with its offense -- almost nobody does -- but if the new coach brings in a finesse offense in a finesse league, the Longhorns could be in danger of doing what they should fear most: blending in.
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- Dan Greenspan College Football 24/7
Briles would work wonders at Texas
What does Texas want in Mack Brown's successor? Does it want to serve a television network almost no one can see, or does it want to return to a championship-level on the field? There are a few candidates that could meet both aims -- Jim Mora of UCLA and Vanderbilt's James Franklin would pop on the Longhorn Network -- but if winning trumps everything else, Texas has to hire Baylor head coach Art Briles. Briles has a proven track record in the Big 12, proven connections to Texas high school football and a proven offense that is both innovative and flexible enough to adjust to match the skill-sets of available players, including returning QB David Ash, who could be placed in a vertical passing offense like the one that turned Bryce Petty into the Big 12 offensive player of the year. Briles has turned a doormat into Fiesta Bowl-bound champions. Imagine what he could do with Texas' unrivaled access, amenities, recruiting and resources.
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- Mike Huguenin College Football 24/7
Franklin has all the tools to succeed
At the least, Texas is a top-three job nationally, and it might be the best. The athletic department basically prints money, the facilities are top-notch, the Big 12 isn't overly strong, and the recruiting base is excellent. Texas should be able to find a great coach. My first call would be to Vanderbilt's James Franklin, who has done exceptional work in a short time with the Commodores. He knows how to recruit, how to motivate and how to develop players.
