Mack Brown has made his resignation as head football coach of the Texas Longhorns official; he also stated he was given the option to return in 2014 if he wanted.
Speaking at a news conference Sunday, ESPN reported, Brown said he reached a "mutual decision" with University of Texas (UT) athletic director Steve Patterson and president Bill Powers to end his 16-year tenure.
Brown said the two gave him the option to stay on as the Longhorns' coach in 2014 in their meetings over the weekend. Brown said he came to the conclusion he was ready to resign on Saturday.
"It's time for me to move on and let someone else come in and restart the program," Brown said. "This is a top-five program annually. It may be the best job in the country. You should be in the mix every year."
Head football coach of the Longhorns is a coveted job in college football, with a storied program and in-state access to some of the best high school recruits being two main draws.
"It's time for Texas to get back in the mix like we were from '04 to '09," Brown said. "And that was a wonderful run, a lot of fun. We haven't lived up to those expectations since 2010."
He said he felt negativity and pressure surrounding him toward the end of the year, and said he told his players and recruits he could not promise to be around another four years. Media reports have been swirling ever since the beginning of the season stating Brown was ready to resign or that the school was going to fire him. Those rumors have only intensified after the end of the regular season's end.
"I sincerely want what's best for the University of Texas," he said. "There's just too many distractions, too many negatives out there. And the players and assistant coaches shouldn't have to deal with negatives about me. That's not healthy for our place. This university is so much bigger than any one person."
Brown will coach his team in the Valero Alamo Bowl Dec. 30 against Oregon (10) before officially resigning. He told his team about his decision Saturday after their first bowl game practice, ahead of the public announcement.
Patterson and Powers have already turned their attention to the next Longhorns' coach, but have not actually met with any candidates. Powers said rumors of him meeting with Nick Saban, recently extended by Alabama, are completely untrue. Patterson said he has not engaged in a search as of yet, but said his ideal candidate should be a seasoned veteran.
"College football is a different enterprise than the NFL," Patterson said. "There are far different requirements of a college coach."
