The Texas Longhorns are one of the most recognizable brands throughout college athletics from their long history of success and tradition throughout the athletic department.
The football team is the school's most attractable entity and is undergoing a transformation that has not been seen in Austin since the late 20th century. The program's identity and future will be shaped as the athletic department searches for the next leader of this storied program.
Rumors surrounded coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns throughout the season after a slow 1-2 start because this was the year that the team was working towards and hoping to get back on track. The team rebounded with a six-game win streak and win over rival Oklahoma to keep their conference championship hopes alive.
But the team lost two of the final three games and fell short of its expectations once again.
The rumor mill has been active since last Saturday's disturbing second half collapse against the Baylor Bears in the "Big 12 Championship".
I have been one of Brown's most expressive critics, especially in recent years, but I won't forget the standard of greatness he set for over a decade to put this program back on the map. He coached the team to a 128-27 record, a National Championship, 2 Conference Championships, 6 division titles and four BCS bowl appearances in his first 12 seasons with the program.
Additionally, he posted nine consecutive 10-win seasons between 2001 and 2009.
The Longhorns seemed on top of the world heading into the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. Mack Brown was going to lead his team to a second National Championship in four years and his successor was in place.
Will Muschamp was highly thought of as an assistant coach and named the head coach in waiting. But a freak accident to Senior quarterback Colt McCoy began the downward spiral that no Longhorn fan expected to encounter the next four seasons.
The team struggled without their leader and lost the 2010 BCS National Championship Game to Alabama. The quarterback-in-waiting Garrett Gilbert amazed the world but couldn't keep up with the daunting Crimson Tide. His college career would peak during the contest and never became the standout that many expected of him. He would not be the next Vince Young or Colt McCoy and led the team to a 5-7 season, missing the bowl season for the first time since 1997.
The team continued to under perform and went 30-20 during the four seasons after the National Championship Game with bowl appearances in the Holiday Bowl and Alamo Bowl (twice). The team had opportunities to hoist a Big 12 Championship heading into the season finale in 2012 and 2013 but were unable to cash in.
And that brings us today. A resignation is expected by the end of the week. Many rumors are surrounding possible candidates to replace the long-tenured coach assuming the reports are accurate. According to the report, he wanted to tell his players and coaches his plans to resign before it went public. Mack denied any plans to step down during his recruiting trip in Florida on Tuesday.
Whatever happens will definitely alter what this brand stands for. Mack Brown has been an awesome representative for this powerful college football program for 16 seasons and we can't forget that. He brought this team back to national prominence and allowed me to experience memorable sports moments as a young sports fan. Whether Nick Saban, Les Miles or another candidate is named the replacement, I hope Mack Brown is remembered for the successful times rather than the past four seasons.
Match-Up: #24 Duke vs. #21 Texas A&M
