Texas' Future With Nick Saban, Steve Patterson, Without Mack Brown

Folks have been saying for quite some time that the writing is on the wall for Texas Longhorns head football coach Mack Brown, but now it’s more like a billboard with flashing lights. Brown’s buddy, DeLoss Dodds, is now gone, which means Brown won’t be coaching out his contact that extends through the 2020 college football season, even though he wouldn’t have anyway considering his recent success rate. Add in the fact the Nick Saban rumors began flying higher than usual on the same day Steve Patterson was hired as Brown’s replacement and a new era of Longhorns football is right around the corner.

Everyone knew Saban was considering Texas when the rumors first surfaced several months ago, even though he said he’s “too old to go someplace else.” We especially know not to trust statements like that after his fiasco of an exit from the Miami Dolphins’ job in 2007.

So enough about the speculation; let’s assume Saban takes the Texas job in 2015 after his current contract is up, if not before then.

Texas is 28-18 since Brown’s 2009 Texas squad lost to Saban’s Alabama team in the BCS National Championship Game and there’s one common theme since that time: The Longhorns have been without a viable starting quarterback.

The state of Texas produces more college and NFL quarterbacks than any other, and it’s not even close. Yet the Longhorns have whiffed on a long list of quality signal-callers since Colt McCoy, which is strange because Brown’s recruiting track record was outstanding up until 2010. And even then, Texas has fielded some talented teams in the past few years, but they’ve all lacked a true leader under center.

Saban is obviously the No. 1 choice for every college program because over the past half-decade he’s done more at Alabama than most coaches do in a lifetime with a string of teams. And you could say he’s already ahead of Brown in the state of Texas in the quarterback recruiting department because he won his first national championship at Alabama with a Southlake Carroll grad under center.

Now all this assuming is fun, but Saban isn’t guaranteed to leave Alabama for Texas. However, it’s obvious that his agent, Jimmy Sexton, is trying hard to get him to leave for the Lone Star State, where college football recruiting is richer than anywhere else in the country. Look at what Saban has done in Alabama and then imagine what he could do with the incredible recruiting options he would have in Texas. Sure, some big-time players in Texas are looking at other schools instead of UT, which hasn’t been the case in decades, but that would drastically change the day Saban arrived in Austin.

You can go ahead and bet that Saban will be hired by the Longhorns by the 2015 college football season at the latest. With AJ McCarron graduating this year, he may decide to go out on top, assuming Alabama wins a third straight national title this year. And when Slick Nick gets to Austin, all bets are off.

Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

Texas’ Hiring of Steve Patterson Means Mack Brown Will Sink or Swim