Mac(k) Problems

Despite winning this weekend, Texas head coach Mack Brown is still firmly entrenched in the hot seat. After a bye this week to prepare for the lowly Iowa State Cyclones, the Longhorns should be 2-2 heading to Dallas for the Red River Shootout (I don't care what anyone says, this just sounds better). After what is almost certainly going to be another embarrassing loss to Oklahoma, Brown's backside will be habanero on the sun in July toasty. He figures to make it to the end of the year but this loss will signal the beginning of the end and a changing of the guard in Austin. Who could be his replacement? Let’s take a look at the candidates, some of them stronger than others:

Tier 10:  The “I-have-no-shot-because-I’m-a-coordinator-and-I-won’t-waste-my-time-writing-about-them” category

·         Kirby Smart- Alabama Defensive Coordinator

·         Cam Cameron- LSU Offensive Coordinator

·         Chad Morris- Clemson Offensive Coordinator

Tier 9: The “Wishful-thinking” category

·         Nick Saban- Alabama Head Coach- Saban should politely decline, hang-up, laugh hysterically before accepting a major pay raise at Alabama. No one has embodied the hound's-tooth better since Bear Bryant and anyone who tells you UT has a shot at Saban is either high or a Texas fan. Potentially both.

Tier 8: The “Just-not-sexy-enough” category

·         Bill Blankenship- Tulsa Head Coach- Blankenship took over for Todd Graham at Tulsa and has done an outstanding job and would be a good fit for Texas. The problem is he’s too “small potatoes” for the Longhorns. If they are truly making a run at Saban then there is no way the Longhorn faithful would “settle” for Blankenship, the name just isn’t sexy enough…

Tier 7: The “One-that-got-away” category

·         Kliff Kingsbury- Texas Tech Head Coach- If they wanted sexy, then the Horns might have waited a year too long. They should have grabbed Kliffy last year, and they would have had one the games great young minds, in a fantastic college town, with endless resources. Unfortunately for the ‘Horns, I think the backlash of leaving his alma mater for an in-state, conference foe is too much, despite all the TV time this Ryan Gosling wannabe would get on the Longhorn Network. This call will still be made and if King can stand getting pelted with batteries and tortillas when he returns to Lubbock every other year, maybe the central Texas kid makes the jump. He did grow up a Longhorn fan…

Tier 6: The “Call’s-that-should-be-made-but-wont” Category

·         Rich Rodriguez- Arizona Head Coach- Rich Rodriguez has bounced back after the Michigan debacle and is in-line for another promotion. He has the Wildcats off to a 3-0 start this season and is the type of big name that Texas would want. Still with the Michigan-thing lingering over his career, it would be tough for the ‘Horns to justify this one to the fan base. You know, unless they started winning again.

·         Dana Holgorsen- West Virginia Head Coach- Just kidding. I would just love to see the headlines and photos of good ol’ Dana after some time on 6^th street.

·         Todd Graham- Arizona State Head Coach- Two years in Tempe?  Graham must be itching to leave after being a serial abandoner at other programs. Maybe Texas could convince him to stick around for a while because he has done well everywhere he’s coached, albeit for a short period of time. I hate to admit it but he would probably be near-perfect for the job.

·         Mark Helfrich- Oregon Head Coach- To me this is probably one of the more intriguing names out there. Helfrich has done a great job to keep the ball rolling for the Ducks, who recruit the state of Texas heavily anyway. Why keep bringing it to Oregon when you can just go straight to the source? Helfrich would have his pick of the litter out in Texas for one of the most exciting offenses in the country. It would be tough to get him to leave Oregon after only a year but Texas has the resources to make it happen. 

Tier 5: The “Call’s-that-will-be-made-but-shouldn’t” category

·         Will Muschamp- Florida Head Coach- This one is intriguing for all parties. Muschamp, the former DC for Texas, would get to go back to the school he was originally named the Head Coach in waiting. Instead he got to wear a different shade of orange, getting better on the job training. Would he leave Gainesville for an Austin reunion? Possibly but he will probably be one of the first calls despite being ho-hum at Florida.

·         Mike Gundy- Oklahoma State Head Coach- With some of the recent investigations going on in Stillwater this “man” may want to jump ship like it was a Pac-12 school. He’s done well with Pickens-money so he could certainly do some damage with Texas-money. Still I’m not as sold on him as everyone else is. He was just a slightly above- average coach until the “Air Raid” came to Stillwater.  

Tier 4: The “Yes-I-am-interested-but-no-I-couldn’t-justify-it”category

·         Art Briles- Baylor Head Coach- The former Stephenville HS football coach has been one hell of a recruiter at every stop he’s made but he seems happy with the program that he’s building in Waco. It wouldn’t be a long trip down the I-35 for Briles and it doesn’t get more glamorous for a Texas native.

·         Bill O’Brien- Penn State Head Coach- O’Brien deserves a lifetime achievement award for the season he led the Nittany Lions to last year. Once again he has the team on the right track and looks like he could be a hot name, especially with all the trouble in Happy Valley. He seems too committed to leave Penn State already though. 

Tier 3: The “Always-mentioned” category

·         Chris Pederson- Boise State Head Coach- Boise State is struggling this year and despite turning down numerous other offers, could this be the one that prys Pederson away from Idaho? Maybe but Texas might not even make an offer with the way former Boise St. OC Bryan Harsin performed in Austin.

Tier 2: The “Just-too-soon-to-tell” category

·         Hugh Freeze- Ole Miss Head Coach- Freeze has been a revelation at Ole Miss, pulling in top recruits and pulling out of the SEC cellar. Does he want to see through what he’s started in Oxford? Who knows but I’m sure he would answer if the ‘Horns came calling and he’d be hard-pressed not to take it.

·         Larry Fedora- UNC Head Coach- Texas wouldn’t go for another Tar Heel would they? The school ties alone may keep Fedora out of the running but if he has another solid year in Chapel Hill he could be a candidate. He would have to have a year like Brown did back in 1997 though, but that means he can’t lose another game.

·         James Franklin- Vanderbilt Head Coach- Franklin is another one of these guys where he could end up being a fantastic coach but it’s just too soon to tell. He would be an interesting hire but not enough seasoning to make it onto the short list of candidates. 

Tier 1: The “Wheelhouse” Category

·         David Shaw- Stanford Head Coach- Shaw took over for Jim Harbaugh and has kept Stanford alive and well, perhaps even better. Shaw has Stanford in the top 5 after taking them to a conference championship and back-to-back BCS bowls. California and Austin endure pretty much the same type of people so Shaw would just have to decide if he wanted to trade the beach for an extra couple million a year. I think the answer is yes.

·         Charlie Strong- Louisville Head Coach- Now would be the perfect time for Strong to move on to one of the premiere jobs in College Football. Bridgewater will leave after this year and he has essentially maxed out Louisville in their current state. I’m not as sold on him as some of the other candidates but it would definitely be an upgrade for Strong and probably the Longhorns too.

·         Kyle Whittingham- Utah Head Coach- Whittingham has been the Head Coach at Utah since 2005 and the Utes have been successful during his time there. He seems like a perfect candidate but, while minor, Whittingham has spent his entire coaching career in, or near Utah. And would the member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, really want to go to the “People’s Republic of Austin?” I think he would have a couple million reasons to get past it all.

·         Al Golden- Miami Head Coach- Golden has been somewhat of a savior of the “U” since all of the allegations came down back in 2010. He is still a little green as a head coach but the Longhorns need to either make a splash with an already big name or an up-and-comer. Maybe they find a happy medium in Golden?

The Verdict

After reviewing the candidates, my top 4:

1.      Will Muschamp

2.      Charlie Strong

3.      Hugh Freeze

4.      David Shaw

For better or worse, Will Muschamp will finally succeed Mack Brown in Austin. The name has the allure of a big-time coach the Longhorn faithful need and he has been successful there before. It wouldn’t be their best hire, in my opinion that’s Mark Helfrich of Oregon, but it could be worse. It could be Mack Brown again.

Dirkless in Dallas?

Dirk Nowitzki has been the epitome of class and loyalty since the Mavericks made the trade to bring him to Big D back in ’98. Mutual trust and his hard work finally paid off with championship in 2011 but that seems like light years ago. 

Dallas dismantled the championship and trudged through a lock-out shortened season two years ago, just to come up short on the big fish of the off-season, Deron Williams.

I had no problem stripping the championship team that seemed more like lightning in a bottle than a perennial contender but Cuban did make one huge gaffe. 

He didn’t go to see Deron Williams when free agency started, instead choosing to film the incredibly mediocre[1] Shark Tank instead. He let team president Donnie Nelson, coach Rick Carlisle and front office assistant Michael Finley serve as his ambassadors. 

"I think (Cuban) would have been able to answer a lot of the questions me and my agent have for him that really didn't get answered that day pertaining to the future," Williams told reporters. "And I think if he was there he would have been able to answer those questions a little bit better. It maybe would have helped me.”

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and GM Billy King were constantly in touch and that obviously cost the Mavs dearly. 

It cost them Deron. Without Deron, it probably cost them Dwight. And now it should also cost them Dirk. [2]

After two straight summers of striking out, it may be time for Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to make another tough, unpopular decision: Trade Dirk Nowitzki.

I can’t believe I just typed those words but the writing is on the wall. The Mavericks are going to be forced onto the treadmill of mediocrity unless they take a gamble. 

They took a gamble when the team was dismantled and that one didn’t pay off. It’s time to take another one.

As a MFFL (Mavs Fan For Life), I would love for Dirk to retire a Maverick but few players truly manage to do that, regardless of sport. Many Hall of Famers spent their twilight years donning the “wrong” jerseys.

Michael Jordan. Joe Montana. Brett Favre. Paul Pierce.

That last one should really hit home for the Mavs. Pierce was drafted one pick after Dirk in the ’98 draft and was traded this offseason to the Brooklyn Nets. Celtics fan and Grantland writer Bill Simmons has said that he had hoped Pierce would be a Celtics lifer but said this shows just how hard it is to wear just one jersey your entire career. 

Speaking of the Celtics, the Mavs had been making calls to about acquiring Rajon Rondo for the dwindling Dirk days but the Celtics wanted Dirk in return. The Mavs quickly said no but maybe they should entertain the idea. 

They could give Rondo the "D-Rose ACL" treatment and tank into the lottery. Maybe they could clear up space and get another pick in the 2014 Free Agency and Draft classes that are looking increasingly stacked? Maybe Dirk would re-sign here after a year abroad?

 

That is of course if Dirk is open to it all.

Otherwise it’s time to look for the silver (and blue) lining...

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[1] This word is one of Cuban’s least favorites.  

[2] For the record, the money the Mavs would’ve made in advertising their “3-D” lineup probably would’ve paid for everyone’s extensions.

Redskins Should Stay

During the 1700’s the British Army would sing a song that was meant to degrade the Colonists. In it, they questioned the intelligence and masculinity of the Colonial men and their army. That song is still sung today across the United States and has become affectionately known as Yankee Doodle.

 

Yankee Doodle was meant to be derogatory at the time, and probably was, but now the song is known by virtually everyone in the same sense that Take Me Out to the Ballgame is known. We all know it, we just don’t know how or when we actually learned it. It seems ridiculous taking a song like that and making it ours but that’s exactly what we did. We took what was supposed to be hurtful and embarrassing, owned it and turned it into something that was the complete opposite of what it was meant to be.

I like to call it steering into the skid and it’s honestly quite admirable how well our ancestors did it.

Today, not so much. I'm looking at a few of you Washington Redskins fans.

Despite Dan Snyder saying they will “NEVER” change the Redskin name, a loud minority is clamoring for the team from D.C. to change their name these days, stating the term is derogatory and hurtful.

Even if it was those things over half a century ago, I agree with Roger Goddell's [1] letter to congress. In it he writes that the name Redskins is "a unifying force that stands for strength, courage, pride and respect.”

I read David Zirin’s article on the topic on Grantland (he believes the NFL should change it) and while he does make some good points, I disagree with his overall summation. He claims that now is the time to change the name because for the first time since Snyder became owner, “the burgundy and gold matters.” But if this is such a big deal, why not change it years ago? Why wait until they are in the public eye to change it? Why wouldn’t they do it when the team was dredging through losing seasons and top 10 draft picks and out of the media’s fleeting scope? 

Zirin claims that when the franchise began, the owner was a racist and named the team Redskins to degrade Native Americans. He does conveniently forget to acknowledge that the team was originally known as the Boston Braves (like a baseball team in Boston at the time) so he wanted to change the name to avoid confusion but keep the name in the Native American spectrum. He also fails to mention that team’s head coach was a Native American himself.[2]

Another potential problem arises, where do we stop with the name changes? This creates a slippery slope… 

Do Scandinavian-Americans want the Minnesota Vikings to change their name because of the pillaging, raping and plundering their ancestors engaged in and find they find the name an embarrassment?

What about all the trouble the Catholic Church has gotten into? Do Saints fans write a letter to the NFL and the Pope to ask the New Orleans Saints to change their name? 

What about the Boston Celtics?? The story goes that the owner wanted to call the team that because there were a lot of Irishmen in Boston at the time. That can't be politically correct. And to make matters worse, they’re not even pronouncing Celtics right! As an Irish American should I be offended? 

No, it’s a term of endearment, just like the rest of the team names, including Redskins. Team names as a whole are derived from something that is held fierce and admirable.

I do understand that as someone who isn’t Native American, I can’t say what should or shouldn’t offend someone else. But in talking to my fiancé, who is part Native American and a big time sports fan, I've learned something. She couldn't care less about the name. She even likes it! 

Even the Seminole’s have given their approval to Florida State to use the name because they like it.

Of course, Seminole isn’t considered a “usually derogative term” but as we’ve learned over time, nothing has to be.

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[1] I can’t believe I just wrote those words…

[2] Or claimed to be. That’s for a different story though.