Of all the things that people will discuss on Monday when new Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte (man, that felt somewhat weird to write), the thing that most should understand above almost all is else is one undeniable truth.
Del Conte wasn't just the one, he was truly the only one.
In discussing the situation with sources inside the Texas Athletic Department over the course of the last six months or so, I found it both fascinating and telling that Del Conte stood alone as a serious primary target.
Mack Brown was never a real consideration, despite his efforts to make it so. The only other name that I could lock down as someone Texas would have an interest in was Oliver Luck, but that shipped sailed a few years ago and just wasn't going to come back to port.
When you consider what Texas was looking for - big-time success as a power five athletic director, a reputation for being a fund-raising dynamo and the ability to seamlessly slide into the position in a non-destructive way - Del Conte was the only candidate that really checked all of the boxes that Texas wanted to have checked.
Yet, identifying Del Conte was one thing, closing the deal seemed like another, especially with Del Conte and his family having developed major roots in Fort Worth. While most think the move from TCU to Austin is an absolute slam-dunk decision (and Del Conte seemingly confirmed that it was), you couldn't take to the bank that Texas would get its man.
I walked away from several conversations in the last few months wondering what Texas would do if it missed on Del Conte. In fact, I'm not sure anyone, including Texas president Greg Fenves, really knew what the next step would look like if Del Conte had stayed at TCU. It likely would have extended the hiring process beyond the first quarter of 2018, which was less than ideal for everyone.
It never came to that. Fenves and his very tight inner-circle got the damn thing done with relative ease, which is what sticks out in my mind, because Texas isn't a place that seems to get things done .... ever... with relative ease. Sometimes it seems like the university goes out of its way to make things harder on itself.
Yet, with one of the more critical decisions that will take place this decade, Texas made it look easy and did so on a timeline that fit its needs, first and foremost. This is the University of Texas in action in the way that Longhorns everywhere have been craving for it to take action for the better part of a decade. In a moment when there was only one guy that would do, no one in burnt orange messed it up by making it any more complicated than it needed to be.
Hell, yeah.
I could get used to seeing a well-oiled, well-planned organization moving forward.
No. 2 – The elephant in the room ...
I didn't do a good enough job last week as a reporter.
Two things happened last week that resulted in failure.
a. On Thursday, when we discussed as a staff what needed to be in the War Room, one of the things that I told everyone that we needed was an update on the athletic director search and I took the lead on that front. Well, Thursday turned into a bit of a wild day and about two hours before the War Room was to be released, I still hadn't been able to get what I needed to have a real update. Primarily, what needed to happen was for me to reach out to my best source on the matter, but I didn't want to bother that source at what I thought was a fairly late hour because I just didn't have a sense of urgency over the matter. I assumed the previous information was still accurate. Instead, I leaned on a couple other secondary sources for the War Room report, just so that I could confirm what I believed to still be correct when it reality things were in the process of changing. In retrospect, that was an incredibly poor decision. I a-s-s-umed and that's a no-no, a reminder that resulted in me learning my lesson the hard way.
b. My best source on this subject material, the one with whom I didn't connect on Thursday, actually gave me a heads up on Saturday before the story broke and I missed the text message. Had I been on the ball and seen that text when it arrived, I would have been in a position to break the story of the hire and save myself from the situation that unfolded, at least to a degree.
Overall, there's not much I can do about the second part. There are going to be days when the mother-in-law is in town and you've got Christmas stuff on the brain. Text messages are going to be occasionally missed, especially when trips to Goodwill are on the forefront of the day's festivities.
However, the first mistake just can't happen. It's possible that my best source wouldn't have answered the phone or given me helpful info, but I simply didn't try, which represents a massive mistake on my part. I should have called my best source or waited to report anything until I had. Weirdly, I thought I was taking minimal risk and it never occurred to me that something eggish would potentially fall on my face in reporting what was reported. Doh!
Bottom line - I'm pissed at myself, not for being wrong on the timeline of the hire, but for the process that led to my being wrong about that point. I'll make every effort to make sure it doesn't happen again.
No. 3 – Some thoughts on the conversation of attrition ...
This is an impossible subject matter to fully dive into because ...
a. It's completely unfair to the players involved who are trying to make life-changing decisions to have to deal with any additional added spotlight from the public.
b. Guys can change their minds a million times before ever coming to a final decision.
c. Cooler heads often prevail because sitting out a full year of ball is much easier said than done for most players.
With that in mind, here's what I think is important to know.
* There will be some attrition. Duh. The volume of conversation about departures is higher than I can remember hearing in a while, but I'm not anticipating a massive amount of departures, at least not from front of the depth chart players.
* Wide receiver might be the position that sees the most turnover in the off-season.
* Chris Nelson and Michael Dickson are two players evaluating potential moves to the NFL that likely warrant the most concern at this point.
Outside of that, I think patience is the name of the game. I think the next few weeks, including the bowl game, will play a large role in the decisions for a number of players considering their options and nothing is set in stone with the majority of them.
Just let it all play out ...
No. 4 – Bleeding orange ...
There's no reason to make too much out of this, but I still thought it was a pretty cool thing to see.
No. 5 – Defending Derek Warehime ...
Look, I have no intention of dying on the Derek Warehime hill, but hear me out.
One of the things that has happened in the aftermath of a 6-6 regular season is that Warehime has come under some fire for his performance this season, both on the field with his group of linemen and off the field in recruiting.
The recruiting concerns are absolutely fair based on the fact that he's unproven as a high-level recruiter. With so few must-have targets at the position within state borders in the 2018 recruiting class, it's tough to judge his performance in that area in traditional terms, but the level of recruit that the Longhorns need to achieve each year doesn't exist at his position. Only 5 of the 18 commits that Texas has amassed are ranked as three-stars, but both of the offensive line commits in this class are among them.
That has to improve moving forward.
As it relates to his performance with his offensive linemen, I think a case can be made that Warehime did good work this season. Consider the following ...
* Not a single person in the world would have dreamed that the line would be anything but a disaster if it not only lost Connor Williams for most of the season, but several others as well. It was a disaster. Probably one that couldn't be avoided.
* Not one single person (as far as I know) believed Derek Kerstetter would be a viable option for immediate playing time when he signed in February and yet he not only played this season, but he excelled at times and gave indications that he's part of the future of this group. Warehime deserves a lot of credit for his development.
* Not a single person (as far as I know) ever believed that Terrell Cuney would be a factor this season. Yes, he wasn't very good, but he went from being unplayable to simply not being very good. If you've ever seen the movie Summer School, this is the equivalent of Chainsaw going from a 6 to a 59 on the big test (see the video above). I kind of feel like he got as much as he could out of Tristan Nickelson as well.
As horrible as the line-up was, there were times when it performed well enough that it was serviceable at times. That by itself is a borderline miracle of sorts.
Perhaps he didn't make drinkable water out of wine, but you can make the case he made bath water out of Mad Dog 20/20.
I'm not telling you he doesn't warrant some question marks, but I am telling you there are some things you should consider when making strong statements about his job performance this season.
No. 6 - The young Vols teach the No. 2 Longhorns a December lesson ...
It certainly doesn't represent the end of the world, but Karen Aston's team learned a valuable lesson as it prepares for the start of Big 12 play.
The lesson?
Rankings be damned, this team isn't quite ready for super prime-time.
The game in Knoxville represented a great chance for the Longhorns to test themselves against an Elite 8-level opponent and the Vols were the better team all day. Better in the first quarter. Better in the fourth quarter. Better from start to finish.
A lot of that had to do with the fact that the Texas starting back-court didn't make shots, shooting a combined 2 of 14 from downtown. It's not rocket science when you point out that it's going to be tough to beat anyone in late March if you don't make your shots.
Yet, what was really surprising about Sunday was that the Longhorns couldn't impose their will or out-physical a Vols team that some that cover women's basketball believed was too young to hang with a team that has already cut its teeth as a group. Instead, the Longhorns looked like a team that needs to execute on all levels a little better than it did on Sunday, while the Vols look like a team nobody will want to play in March.
No worries, though. With undefeated Florida State coming to town in a week, the Longhorns will have one more big-time test to work out the kinks before the quest to overthrow Baylor truly takes place.
No. 7 – Buy or Sell …
BUY or SELL: The Del Conte hire will be an asset to Tom Herman which enables him to win more games next year?.
(Sell) Del Conte will be a first-day asset for Herman, but I'm not sure that the hire is going to improve the offensive line options or assure the program of good quarterback play. He's going to be an ace for the football program behind the scenes, but Herman's support from the admin wasn't an issue this season. The responsibility for more wins belongs to Herman.
BUY or SELL: If Del Conte was hired one year ago yesterday, he hires Tom Herman as Strong’s replacement?
(Buy) First of all, Tom already had been on the job in Austin for a week if Del Conte had been hired one year ago yesterday. Also, there's no way in my mind that Del Conte takes the Texas job and hires Gary Patterson within days of his departure. No way, no how. In fact, I don't think he'd feel right about doing that within a couple of years of arriving at Texas, which leaves Herman as absolutely the only option for the program in the scenario you've described. However, if things ever go sideways with Herman in the next few years and a change is made, yeah, I think you'd be a fool to dismiss the possibility of Patterson being a candidate for the job.
BUY or SELL: With the new hire, Herman will feel more pressure to make a change at OC?
(Sell) I don't believe Herman is feeling a lot of internal pressure to make a change. If anything changes his mind, it might simply be the changing currents that would exist around him if he loses the bowl game.
BUY or SELL: Del Conte's fundraising efforts are his most needed traits at this time?
(Sell) In a global sense, the answer is almost always fundraising. However, this athletic department needs a mack daddy in place that doesn't have to go ask the university mack daddy if it’s okay to cross the street. Greg Fenves can now go focus on being the university president and the athletic department won't have to lean on the school president to be the athletic director.
BUY or SELL: Chris Plonsky won't like being a second fiddle and will take a hike sooner rather than later?
(Sell) That's not my read on Plonsky at all.
BUY or SELL: With all the staff losses for Missouri and players declaring for us; Texas beats Missouri and why or why not?
(Buy) I'm not saying that I'm picking the Longhorns to win this game, but you can make a case that Texas wants to be in this bowl or playing in a bowl at all more than a Tigers team that seems to be going through a lot with the staff changes.
BUY or SELL: A loss to Mizzou in the bowl game does not impact recruiting momentum, allowing Texas to finish with a top-5 recruiting class for 2018?
(Buy) The cake is baking on the 2018 class. The cake needs to be made in the Class of 2019, which is the class that will be most impacted by a real loss of momentum for Herman.
BUY or SELL: Jeff Scott will be on our staff next year?
(Sell) Scott is already receiving head coaching interest for his work at Clemson, which is a program performing at the top of the sport, along with Alabama. There's literally no reason for him to come to Texas at this point, as he's going to get to where he wants to be without a Texas father in his cap. Will Muschamp didn't quite feel that way, which explains why he made the move that he did coming into the 2008 season. Plus, this guy freaking bleeds Clemson football. This guy's first job outside of Clemson will be as a head coach. On top of that, Clemson will pony up whatever cash is needed, if that is an issue at all. That being said, it would represent a massive addition to the staff if Scott or anyone close to his type of rep joins the staff.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
... FREEEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKK
... I think it's going to be fun watching Giancarlo Stanton wearing pinstripes.
... The NY Giants = one terrible football team.
... That Dez Bryant touchdown was one of the few times this season I've felt like I was looking at the Dez Bryant of 2012.
... Kyle Shanahan's 49ers looked like a well-coached team and Jimmy Garoppolo looked like a potential big-time quarterback on Sunday. On top of that, Marquise Goodwin has turned into a hell of an NFL player. Those are officially the nicest things I have ever written about the 49ers.
... The Bills overtime win over the Colts was waaaaaay more enjoyable than a 13-7 overtime game should have been. The NFL should stop scheduling games in London and head off to Siberia. Tell me you wouldn't watch any two teams playing in the same snow that Rocky trained in as he prepared for Ivan Drago.
... That was a big boy win by the Eagles. Color me impressed.
... Am I crazy for thinking Carson Wentz is the best quarterback I've ever seen in an Eagles uniform?I feel like that's insulting to Donovan McNabb, but that's how good Wentz is.
... Attaboy, Quandre The Giant.
... It's pretty incredible to see Josh Gordon walk off the street after three years and dominate an NFL game. That guy has wasted a potentially special career.
... Cam Newton cracks me up.
... Just give Man City the crown. It's over.
... I hate EPL officials.
... Congrats to Jozy Altidore, who probably scored the goal of his life in the MLS Cup Final against Seattle. Nothing will make the USA's failure to qualify for the World Cup go away, but scoring back-to-back game-winners in the final two games of the MLS playoffs warrants an attaboy.
No. 9 – The greatest coaching job of all-time ...
This might seem like hyperbole, but I assure you it's not ...
The job that Charles Taylor has done as head coach of the state semi-finalist McCallum Knights might be the best job of coaching I have ever seen in my entire life. As a proud MAC graduate, I'm not sure that I ever thought it would be possible for a Knights team to not only go undefeated in the regular season, but cruise through the first four rounds of the playoffs like a blue blood program.
As the years have gone by, the AISD is a shell of the football power it once was when I was in high school and the likes of LBJ and Reagan were state-ranked each season. That McCallum, with zero big-time college prospects and only seven full-time coaches at its disposal, has emerged as the AISD team that is within two wins of a state title is a miracle of sorts. Unbelievable.
Coach Honeycutt and Coach Lewis would be incredibly proud.
Go Knights.
No. 10 – And Finally…
I stand with Keaton Jones, a young man with the bravery and attitude the rest of us could only hope to own some day. This is what the best of us looks like.
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