The following story ran in a 10 Thoughts From The Weekend column back on January 26, 2014. In taking a look back on the entire saga on Wednesday, I thought it might make for a perfect walk down memory lane.
Enjoy.
*****
In what turned out to be quite a therapeutic exercise, I spent the weekend putting together one hell of a trip down memory lane.
Buckle up. This ride has a lot of bumps.
Saturday, December 7th
On an afternoon when the Longhorns were 30 minutes away from a share of the Big 12 title and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl, Baylor ran away in the second half in what turned out to be a 30-10 loss that seemed to signal the end of the 16-year Mack Brown era. Following the game, Brown declines to talk about his future.
Subscriber flashback: (oldspur)
"My UT graduate father took me to the first UT-BU game at Floyd Casey stadium ~50 years ago and I was happy to be there for the closing game. It was also meaningful for me in that the 2013 game was on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack; my dad, a WW II veteran was aboard ship (USS Tangier) during that attack.
"By a set of circumstances, my wife and I were guests in the BU President's box that Saturday. Although I was (the only one there) wearing Orange, and was pulling for UT, I was also happy for my BU Graduate children (son and daughter) that their team won the Conference championship. I was inwardly convinced and pleased that UT would be getting a new coach. As the events of the next few days played out, I was afraid Brown was going to finesse his way in to another (losing) season. Despair turned to elation when his 'retirement' was announced."
Sunday, December 8th
Mack Brown and Steve Patterson fly to New York for National Football Foundation events. Bill Powers did not go to New York because of other responsibilities, thus the much-anticipated meeting between the three about Mack's future does not happen on Sunday as big-money donors had hoped
OB also reported that three sources had confirmed that Powers had definitely taken control of the "Mack Brown situation." As OB had previously reported, Powers basically told Patterson he'd handle any decisions involving Brown's future as coach at Texas.
Meanwhile, OB also reported sources had confirmed that Mack Brown had told his assistants that he planned to coach the team in 2014.
Monday, December 9th
Mack Brown and Steve Patterson spend the day in New York without Texas president Bill Powers.
Tuesday, December 10th
While Mack Brown traveled from New York to South Florida on a recruiting trip, Orangebloods reports Brown is expected to announce that he is stepping down as head coach by the end of the week, according to two high-level university sources.
"Mack Brown loves Texas and wants what's in the best interest of Texas and what's in the best interest of Mack Brown," one high-level source said. "I don't think it's been an easy decision. But he doesn't want negativity around the program he helped unify."
While ESPN's Brett McMurphy and CBSSports.com's Bruce Feldman follow up Orangebloods' report with confirmations of their that Brown is expected to step down by week's end, Brown tells 247Sports that if he was planning to resign, he wouldn't be "killing" himself on the road in recruiting.
Subscriber Flashback: Joe Levin
"I'm a 15-year old high school freshman in Los Angeles, and it's safe to say I'm the only Horns fan in my high school. When I woke up on Tuesday December 10 with a feeling that something was going to go down regarding Mack. Because of this, I kept my phone on vibrate in my pocket all day in case something happened. Well, something happened at about noon our time, and my phone buzzed in my pocket. Only problem was that I was in Spanish class. Taking a test. With a super strict teacher. My curiosity kept eating at me at me, though, and I snuck a glimpse at the screen. Mack was out. That should have been the end of the story, but I was so done with Mack and ready to hire Nick Saban that an "About f***ing time!" escaped my mouth a little too loudly. My teacher saw my phone in hand and thought someone had texted me answers and sent me to the principal. I got 4 weeks of detention, but it was well worth it"
Wednesday, December 11th
Brown continues on the recruiting trail, visiting Texas linebacker commitment Andrew Beck in Tampa before meeting with Beck's father in Alabama later that evening.
Brown returns to Austin from the recruiting trips in Florida late that evening or possibly on Thursday morning. No meeting between Brown, Patterson and Powers takes place.
Thursday, December 12th
Mack Brown holds court at an Alamo Bowl press conference in the morning with Oregon coach Mark Helfrich. But Brown refuses to talk about his future, saying he plans to sit down with Steve Patterson soon to talk things over, but does not give any specifics.
Meanwhile, the UT Board of Regents meet and engage in what is described to OB as a 5 1/2-hour fight over Bill Powers' future as President of Texas. Sources tell OB athletics never once came up during the executive session, as the meeting was more about Powers' ability to co-exist with regents on key, higher-education issues. Powers emerges with a 6-3 vote to continue on as UT president.
By the end of the day, there had still been no meeting between Brown, Powers and Patterson.
Friday The 13th
OB confirms the long-awaited meeting involving Bill Powers, Steve Patterson, Mack Brown and Brown's attorney, Joe Jamail, will occur at 5 pm - just before the UT football banquet that night.
A high-ranking source informs OB after the meeting that Jamail told Powers and Patterson if Nick Saban is brought in as Brown's replacement, Jamail will file tortious interference lawsuits against those involved in the January 2013 phone call with Nick Saban's agent Jimmy Sexton.
The meeting concluded with Steve Patterson leading Mack Brown to believe he can stay on as coach, a high-ranking source tells OB. Before the banquet, Patterson is approached by reporters and pleasantly declines to comment on Mack Brown's situation.
Meanwhile, OB talks to a source close to Nick Saban just as the football banquet is beginning who says word has already gotten back to Saban's camp that Brown wasn't going quietly and that Patterson had indicated to Brown he could stay on as coach.
During the banquet, Patterson says he looks forward to working with Brown "for many years to come."
But there is no emphatic statement from Powers, Patterson or Brown that Brown will be back as football coach in 2014. A source close to Brown told OB after the banquet Brown was upset Bill Powers didn't make a strong statement during the banquet that Brown would be back as coach in 2014.
With an uncomfortable scene taking place at the football banquet, a national bombshell goes off midway through the festivities when Kirk Herbstreit reports on Twitter Alabama coach Nick Saban had finally agreed to his extension with the Crimson Tide. Herbstreit's tweet, quickly confirmed by others, including OB, is seen as the end to his much-discussed, behind-the-scenes courtship from a group of big-money donors at UT.
The uncertainty of Brown's status after the football banquet combined with Saban suddenly seeming to be out of play led to a wild reaction inside and outside the Longhorn community.
Texas message boards were set ablaze within minutes of the UT football banquet ending. But the flames may have raged most uncontrollably on Orangebloods.com, the largest site on the Rivals.com network. Fans who had become attached to the idea of Saban replacing Mack Brown as football coach began assessing blame for what now appeared to be a shattered dream. Most of that heat seemed directed at the OB staff.
A sample of some of the venom from an overnight chat-session included the following comments (all within the first 15 minutes):
"I feel like Ferris Bueller's sister right about now."
"Don't get cute asshole. Have Chip out his sources."
"The people who run the university of Texas are incompetent old assholes. Fire them all."
"What a joke! OB 's is making some people wealthy. I will not be a part of it anymore! I love Texas but as a fan of OB, I am no longer. We get better inside info from ESPN. We are pissed! Mack Brown did it again. His politically correct verbiage fooled everyone again. My best to all you fools. Including the regents, Powers and the new AD. Us fans, who fork over most the money, wish you another shitty season and beyond. We will watch and cheer because we love but some of us are Done with this site!!! Ketch or Chip don't know S__T!"
"Did Orangebloods cost us Saban?"
"I'm selling pitchforks. Do you want one?"
"Has Chip apologized for allowing himself to get played and made to look like an idiot by shitty sources?"
"I feel sick and am debating whether I want to keep my subscription. I'm pissed at the 3 amigos of mediocrity (f*ckface m. brown, powers and patterson) This is the worst clown show ever."
Staff Flashback: Chip Brown
"I had been told repeatedly that Powers would handle Mack Brown's situation and that Steve Patterson would handle the hire of Brown's replacement.
After the regents voted to keep UT president Bill Powers on Thursday and there still hadn't been any public announcement about Brown stepping down, it raised the possibility of things going sideways on Friday the 13th. Why? Because it was clear Brown wasn't happy about the idea of Nick Saban succeeding him and wasn't going to go quietly. And Brown can be very persuasive and manipulative when boring in on someone.
Friday morning I asked one of my two initial sources about the chances of Mack Brown returning as coach in 2014 and was told "zero." But Brown took Joe Jamail into the Friday meeting with Powers and Patterson and let it be known he wanted to stay, even though he knew he had failed to meet criteria laid out for him after opening 1-2 (10 wins, BCS bowl or at least a share of B12 title).
I got a text before the football banquet from one of my sources saying Brown expressed in that Friday meeting his desire to stay. I was told Brown hammered away at Powers about Powers possibly allowing big-money donors to run the athletic department, potentially undermining Steve Patterson.
And Jamail expressed if Saban became UT's coach that he'd have grounds to file tortious interference lawsuits against those involved with a phone call to Nick Saban's agent back in January of 2013. At that point, right before the banquet, it wasn't even clear with my one of my sources where things stood between Powers, Patterson and Brown after the meeting.
That's when things went haywire. I was supposed to do an interview on ESPN radio's national network that I had to cancel while I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
I called a source close to Saban right as the football banquet was beginning who said the word had gotten back to them that Mack Brown wasn't going quietly and that things had come off the rails. Less than 30 minutes after that call, Kirk Herbstreit tweeted out - right in the middle of the UT football banquet - that Saban had agreed to his extension at Alabama.
Then the world of social media seemed to collapse on me. Everyone who believed there was never a chance Saban would end up at Texas wanted a place to say, "I told you so!" - and my Twitter account seemed to be the best place to do it.
Over and over again, I was being blamed for having said Nick Saban was coming to Texas. I never said that. All I had reported was that Brown would step down by the end of the week. Obviously, there was some uncertainty about Brown's future at Texas as of the night of Friday the 13th, and OB subscribers certainly let us hear about that. So did Jay Mohr, who has 274,000 Twitter followers and quoted my tweet about Mack Brown stepping down by the end of the week, followed by "STILL WAITING."
The avalanche of negativity was so overwhelming, all I could do was watch in disbelief. I received two death threats on Twitter. Ketch wanted me to put my thoughts together for a post on OB, but all I could do was try to respond to threads as thoughtfully as I could. I reached out to my sources, but I didn't hear back from them until Saturday.
The night of Friday the 13th was probably the longest night of my career."
Subscriber Flashback: Grant Hartline (McLovin67)
"I've said this on the boards before, but I (then) belonged to 3 separate pay sites and was on all three that night. All caught fire big time, with people yelling/insulting the mods, pulling out their hair, killing puppies, etc. One site completely imploded, with one mod (clearly drunk posting by then) yelling for people to leave. Another basically backed completely out of the discussion in hopes that the fire would simply burn itself out. OB did a chat until wee hours of the morning, took all the slings and arrows, and kept its collective head. I had been a member of OB for a while, since (I think) the 104.9 bloodletting; and had noted things that I both liked and disliked. I became a fan of this site on meltdown night."
Subscriber Flashback: Jeff LaCoke (Cheadhorn)
"I remember sitting at BJ's Brewhouse eating dinner with me wife when the news of Saban's extension scrolled across the screen. There was a guy sitting at a table at the bar who yelled, "Orangebloods meltdown in 3...2....1!" I looked over at him and laughed. Then I looked at my wife who said, "Go ahead...." I then proceeded to take out my phone and pull up the Orangebloods app. My wife proceeds to say, "Let me guess...it's Mack's fault."
Subscriber Flashback: Raymond Coldren (Horny Gambler)
"My favorite post from the banquet meltdown was titled something to the effect of "F It, I'm Going Out in Style" and the guy blasted one of best sets breasts I've ever seen. And things were so chaotic that the thread stayed up for half an hour with about 40-50 responses. Classic."
Saturday, December 14th
OB talks to high-level sources who say either Bill Powers didn't have a good answer for Mack Brown during Friday's meeting or was complicit in allowing Brown to think he could stay on as football coach so word would get to the Saban camp that Texas would have no job opening.
At about 12 pm Saturday, OB talks to two high-level sources who say Brown's fate will be known to everyone "in six hours."
At 6 pm Saturday, word begins to leak to LHN and OB that Mack Brown will indeed be resigning. Within minutes of those reports, Texas releases statements making it official that Brown will resign/retire. OB is told Brown's dismissal came after a group of big-money donors contacted Bill Powers early Saturday and said if Brown wasn't removed, those donors would stop supporting the school financially. Word gets back to OB that Mack Brown called Bill Powers repeatedly on Saturday but that Powers had not returned any of Brown's calls.
Staff Flashback: Jason Suchomel
This is, without question, my most memorable day on the site.
We began to hear rumblings early Saturday evening that Mack was officially resigning and two key team sources confirmed via text that Mack had addressed the team after the first bowl practice and delivered the news that he was resigning.
On one hand, there was some satisfaction in knowing that OB's reports from earlier in the week had turned out to be accurate, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a smile on my face after all the crap the entire staff took from even our most loyal subscribers on Friday night, when Mack was digging in to save his job.
There was some relief on my part, and I'm sure for the rest of the staff, that we had finally reached the end of what had been a tumultuous work week and we were about to get some closure on the biggest story in the history of OB. That lasted about 5 minutes.
Immediately after we confirmed that Mack had told the players and his assistants that he was stepping down, it was time to flip the switch into recruiting reporter mode and a long Saturday night of tracking down prospects (many of whom were in Austin on their official visit) to get their immediate impressions.
Later that night, probably close to 11 p.m., when things had finally started to settle down a bit, I received a couple phone calls from people within the football program, people whose futures were directly affected by the news. It was a sobering moment.
Sometimes lost in all the excitement from fans in the change is the fact that the people who worked below Mack had gone through an agonizing week of not knowing their futures. When the news was delivered to the team on Saturday afternoon of Mack's resignation, the other people in the program were faced with the realization that they would likely be searching for employment and uprooting their families. The people I talked to on Saturday night were surprisingly level-headed in a very tough time ? they understood why the decision for change was made, but the uncertainty of their futures was really beginning to hit home.
The week leading up to Mack's resignation had been one of the wildest this site has ever experienced, and when things came to a head on Saturday evening there were some mixed emotions on my end.
Sunday, December 15th
Mack Brown, Bill Powers and Steve Patterson formally announce at an afternoon press conference that Brown is stepping down.
"I want what's best for Texas," Brown said. "There are just too many distractions."
"Life is too short for negativity," he added.
Moments after Brown finished his remarks, new Texas athletic director Steve Patterson, who was 14 days into his new job, outlined exactly what he was looking for in a new coach before embarking on a search that would likely make or break Patterson's tenure as AD.
"You need to be good with the press," Patterson stated. "You have to be able to recruit. You gotta understand what a big-time college program is about. You're going to be under a lot of scrutiny. You gotta win. You gotta win big. You have to graduate your student-athletes. They have to take real classes. You have to mentor them. You have to recruit the right kind of folks."
Monday, December 16th
OB reports Alabama head coach Nick Saban is off the table in the head coaching search after the events of the previous week.
Sources close to the situation tell OB Powers is dead-set against hiring Saban.
Also, a source close to Urban Meyer tells OB it's highly unlikely Meyer would leave Ohio State. A second source with direct contact to Meyer tells OB there's "no way" Meyer would leave OSU right now.
Tuesday, December 18th
Texas announces athletic director Steve Patterson has appointed the same eight-person advisory committee to assist with the coaching search that hired him as the AD. The committee includes vice chair of the Board of Regents Steve Hicks, UT regent Robert Stillwell and billionaire former regent Robert Rowling, among others.
Also, after a report circulates that Texas athletic director Steve Patterson had met with UCLA head coach Jim Mora on Monday, OB is told by a source close to Mora no such meeting occurred.
Meanwhile, the initial Vegas odds on the vacant Texas head coaching position looked like this:
Charlie Strong (Louisville): 2/1
Art Briles (Baylor): 9/2,
James Franklin (Vanderbilt): 5/1
Mike Gundy (OK State): 7/1
Bill O'Brien (Penn State): 15/2
Chip Kelly (Philadelphia Eagles): 10/1
Jim Mora (UCLA): 10/1
David Shaw (Stanford): 10/1
Jimbo Fisher (FSU): 15/1
Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco 49ers): 20/1
Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): 20/1
Wednesday, December 19th
Orangebloods.com reports former Super Bowl champion head coach and current ESPN analyst Jon Gruden would be open to hearing from Texas about replacing Mack Brown. The report garners national attention, but is causally dismissed in a lot of corners. This wouldn't be the last time Gruden's name pops up in the Texas search.
Staff Flashback: Alex Dunlap
"Scoop was coming from everywhere and a coaching search only comes so often. I had to try and dip my toe in. There had been talk and rumors of possibilities that the administration would be vetting certain candidates with NFL experience. Since most of my contacts are on the NFL-side, I started kicking around the ideas of some NFL names and reaching out to folks who might know something. An interesting note is that the phone call that resulted in my initial learning of Jon Gruden's interest in hearing from Texas was not to solicit information about Gruden, but rather regarding Jim Mora, Jr. that went a completely different way than I expected."
Tuesday, December 24th
OB reports, according to high-level sources, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher is generating a lot of buzz among some big-money donors at Texas. A contract extension and raise from Florida State has been sitting on Fisher's desk without his signature.
A high-level source tells OB Baylor's Art Briles is definitely a candidate for the Texas job. OB breaks the news Briles has a $4 million buyout and that most of his new, 10-year contract extension is guaranteed to the tune of $50 million.
Friday, December 27th
After rumblings continue from other outlets in the Longhorns universe that Alabama's Nick Saban remains in play as a candidate for the Texas job, high-level sources confirm to OB once again that the door to a Saban hire remains very much closed.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking Texas source confirms that Vanderbilt's James Franklin has emerged as a serious candidate for the Texas job.
Saturday, December 28th
After Louisville's thrashing of Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl, OB confirms with a high-ranking Texas source that Charlie Strong is also emerging as a top candidate at Texas.
Sunday, December 29th
OB confirms with a source with direct knowledge of the situation that someone representing the University of Texas had engaged in communication with Jon Gruden.
Monday, December 30th
The end of the Mack Brown era takes place in San Antonio as the Longhorns fall 30-7 to the Oregon Ducks in the Alamo Bowl.
Hours before the game, Texas athletic director Steve Patterson holds court with the media to discuss the shape of the ongoing coaching search, declaring the job will be filled before the recruiting dead period ends on January 15.
"We have to be back open for business in the middle of the month once the dead period ends," Patterson said. "I think we've got to be done by then."
Tuesday, December 31st
In a wide-ranging story about all the agendas Steve Patterson will have to navigate in his search, OB is first to report via a high-level source that Patterson flew earlier in the day to an undisclosed location to interview Louisville coach Charlie Strong. OB reports Strong had received a high recommendation from Korn/Ferry, the search firm assisting in the Texas search.
OB is also first to report via another source close to the situation that Patterson had already interviewed Vanderbilt coach James Franklin and wanted to talk to Michigan State's Mark Dantonio.
OB reports that Patterson met with a group of Texas lettermen before the Alamo Bowl to take their temperature on the search.
Even though Jimbo Fisher signs his contract extension at FSU, increasing his salary to $4.1 million, causes some media outlets to conclude Fisher won't be leaving the Seminoles any time soon, OB reports otherwise.
OB reports, according to sources close to the situation, the signing of the extension was done to show Texas Fisher wasn't using the Longhorns' search as leverage to get more money out of FSU. OB also reports that Fisher's new deal essentially takes a $2 million buyout in his old contract down to zero - making it easier for Fisher to leave.
Finally, in OB's wide-ranging report, a billionaire Texas donor (later to be confirmed by the San Antonio Express-News as Red McCombs) had let it be known to university officials that he supported Jon Gruden as Mack Brown's replacement.
Subscriber Flashback: Lisa Benfield (Benflr)
"I never believed the Gruden talk and quite frankly think he would have been a complete disaster. I remember talking with my husband and after the OSU loss about who Texas would hire. I strongly felt after OSU when winning the conference was unlikely at best, that Texas would soon be hiring the university's first African-American coach. Charlie Strong was mentioned, but so was Franklin, so I will not say I knew all along he would be hired. I WILL say that after all the Saban stuff died down and the top candidates were mentioned I thought Strong would be near the top. If I had had a gun put to my head, I would have guessed Art Briles would have emerged as the next coach over Strong. I remember making a bet with my husband that either Briles or Strong was going to be the next coach. I have yet to collect my winnings BTW!"
Thursday, January 2nd
Two sources close to the situation told OB Texas athletic director Steve Patterson was interested in interviewing Baylor coach Art Briles that week and possibly as early as Thursday.
But a Baylor source told OB the previous night that Texas had not yet reached out for permission. That same source told OB Briles expressed to Baylor officials "you have nothing to worry about" regarding Texas after an upset loss to Central Florida in the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday night.
OB also confirmed preliminary communications between the Longhorns and UCLA head coach Jim Mora had taken place and it was possible Steve Patterson would meet with Mora for a formal interview within the next 24 hours.
Friday, January 3rd (morning)
Orangebloods reports that a source close to the Texas coaching search says Louisville's Charlie Strong and Vanderbilt's James Franklin are among the finalists to replace Mack Brown at Texas.
Earlier in the day, Baylor's Art Briles and UCLA's Jim Mora, who had both been targets of interest in the Texas search, issued statements saying they were planning to stay at their current schools.
A source tells OB Texas' Steve Patterson attempted to talk to Briles in the days leading up to the Fiesta Bowl but that Briles was uncomfortable with the timing of such a meeting and indicated he'd be willing to talk after the game. But no such meeting has happened after the game up to this point, the source tells OB.
A source close to Briles tells OB he would have taken the Texas job if it had been offered - without having to go through interviews. When Texas didn't take that approach, Briles decided to issue his statement on Friday.
Friday, January 3rd (afternoon)
A grassroots online campaign supporting Jon Gruden (billionaire booster Red McCombs' choice to replace Mack Brown) hits OB. Within hours, the hashtag #GrudentoTexas was trending in Austin on Twitter.
Friday, January 3rd (late evening)
OB reports that Louisville coach Charlie Strong will replace Mack Brown as the head coach at the University of Texas, a high-ranking school source told Orangebloods.com. The source said Strong, 53, would be offered a five-year contract at $5 million per year. Strong had previously indicated he would accept the job, the source said.
Staff flashback: Chip Brown
"I knew the regents were talking the night of January third and that Patterson had his man. I just needed confirmation that it was Strong, and I finally got that Friday night. I was reassured throughout the day on Saturday, Jan. 4, that everything was a formality with Strong accepting the job - and I reported that at OB. I was told the previous Wednesday by a Louisville source that Strong 'wanted the Texas job' and reported that at OB."
Saturday, January 4th
After a day of waiting for Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich to fly through severe weather from Colorado back to Kentucky, Charlie Strong meets with Jurich and informs him he is taking the Texas head coaching position.
Staff flashback: Geoff Ketchum
"When you look back at the month of December and the first handful of days in January, I think you're talking about a window of time that will forever define the history of the site. In fact, with a little bit of time to process exactly what occurred during that month, I think you'd say without question that this story has a locked in spot in the Mount Rushmore of Significant OB Moments, along with the final two months of the Ryan Perrilloux recruitment, the national title year and both Big 12 Missile Crisis I and Big 12 Missile Crisis II.
The difference between those stories and this one is that we were mostly without competition on those other three, as the marketplace is much more competitive than ever before and perhaps more competitive than in any college market in this entire industry. Before this story ever started to take off, we got together as a staff for dinner and discussed the stakes of covering this story and we formulated a plan for coverage and support for each other. There was a clear understanding that the stretch of time from early December to early January would define the way people viewed the online UT universe, and while we might have held the belt for a long while, not getting it done to the standards that we believe we've established could possibly open the door for someone to put a dent in an our armor. We were determined to be at our absolute best and make use of every connection we've developed in the last 70 or so combined years of covering this team on a professional basis.
In the end, I think anyone on the staff would tell you that we feel really good about the work we put in from the moment Mack Brown's final post-game press conference took place to the moment when Charlie Strong held his first UT press conference on the day of the BCS Championship game. With as many moving parts as there were in this saga, it seemed like possible landmines existed at every turn and the truth is that we trusted what we were reporting the entire way. Very few regrets exist. And now we turn our collective attention to the next phase of the story and the next chapter in UT history. There's really not any time for celebration because there's forever more work to do, but we really wouldn't want it any other way."
