Horns247 Board

If that's stuff's true about Diaz and Akina then it's just another example of how clueless Mack is. He knows less about defense then average message board guy so he hasn't a clue how to fix it.

From the comments:

something you missed Scipio
Great article as usual, but I want to share something that also contributed to Harsin's departure…. Mack's adolescent, condescending and disrespectful treatment of his assistants after any loss.

I spent an evening fishing off my dock on the Coast about 5 years ago with an offensive coordinator who is now a very hot, young head coach. He grew up in a coaching family and has been in that world since he was a toddler. That evening (after telling him I was a college football junkie) we talked about his many friends in the coaching community including several on Texas' staff at the time.
He made it clear that a tight network exists within the assistant coaching community and many know each other and enjoy each others company when they can. He also said they often share their opinions pretty openly about their respective bosses. The bottom line is he told me there is a completely ignorant misconception by many in the the public about Mack Brown and Bob Stoops. The view that Stoops is a hothead, asshole and must be hell to work for is completely wrongheaded. And the view that Brown is a gentle grandfather who is super easy going with his assistants is also founded in ignorance. In reality it is the complete opposite. Stoops is deeply admired and respected in the assistant coaching community because he identifies himself as a coach, is involved in the smallest details of coaching and appreciates the difficulties, bad bounces and complexity of his assistants jobs and always has their back. Mack is known on the other hand to be a hell of a nice guy if things are ok, but can be embarrassingly petulant, unpredictable and an asshole after a loss. He is known to go off the deep end into unprofessional behavior and engage in personal dress -downs to the point of belittlement. Because he delegates everything he takes no personal responsibility for a loss with his staff even if he says the opposite in public. (My opinion….Saban on the other hand, is also an asshole with his staff at times, but is still respected because he knows his assistant's jobs better than they do).

Harsin was nurtured by a head coach who was first and foremost another coach much like Stoops. In the end he had very little respect for Mack's coaching acumen and was disgusted by his behavior and CEO nonsense .

Do you honestly believe that?

Agreed 100%. I am a natural born skeptic and take everything with a grain of salt. Having said that, as a long time reader of Scipio's, who I personally think is a great writer and knows a lot about football, I take him at his word on the article.

A WELL reasoned and supported opinion at that!

Stopped reading there. Don't be so naive. People talk in general. Unhappy people talk even more. Let's not pretend like there are not people in this world with access to the program.

You can sit back with your hands over your ears and sing "La, La, La, La, La" if you want, but don't expect the rest of us to fall in line.

If you stopped reading, you would have seen that I wasn't supportive of Mack and that I have no problem with people being mad. Just that we get conflicting reports on what is wrong every single day. I've got no problem with being mad at the results, but lets not act like an opinion piece written by an anonymous writer is the gospel and that everything we read on the internet is true.

You're right, I was extreme with my use of the word "nobody". There certainly are people with access to the program. That doesn't change the fact that 99% of the posters on this message board don't actually know what happens. I have no problem with being mad, we should be, at the results on the field. You are what your record is, and that is bad lately, so criticism is certainly fair. I was just pointing out that we hear conflicting reports of what is wrong all the time, so people shouldn't act like anything they read on the internet is gospel. Or that we probably shouldn't talk in absolutes about the program or Mack, because it's never as simple as "he's soft" or "he's lost touch". I'm just tired of every article or post setting off a new wave of "rabble rabble rabble", but it's a message board and people will do what they want.

I can believe this to be true.

Have seen both of these types of bosses over the years.

I can't comment on Stoops, Mack can chew ass like a Marine DI and I have seen him do it. Mack as far as I can tell is more likely to get on a coach then a player when things aren't going well.

I read Scipio's blog, he makes a lot of assumptions and some aren't true at all. As an example, the Texas coaches began to change how they evaluate and recruit when Muschamp and Applewhite got on campus. After the 5-7 purge, Texas is now a staff that gets out and works hard to evaluate and recruit kids. I think as a team Texas is still suffering from Davis/McWhorter/Kennedy and their terrible evaluations. Searles/Applewhite/Wyatt are doing a much better job.

And who made that hire....well it is "Mack Brown". Time to hold him responsible.

You know this how, preicsely?

Did you even read the piece? It begins -

"I learned some things about Harsin's time in Austin. I'lll share some of it. I believe it's fairly reliable insofar as it represents a perspective, one which is colored by everyone's natural tendency to view themselves as the hero in their own tale. And it's filtered through other people, each with their own agendas, ranging from pro-Mack to blow it all up and start over types."

So the "opinion" is primarily that of his sources, he's acknowledged that his sources' perspective is at least somewhat coloring their views, and he's conceded that the sources may also have agendas. How is that different than the reporting you accept here as "fact"?

And for those who say there are "no repercussions" if he writes something that isn't false, you're also wrong. Scip is subject to the same repercussions as the owners of this site if he makes false statements, misleads his readers, etc.

Who said I accepted every opinion here as fact? It wasn't meant to be a shot at Scipio, I was just pointing it out. I said it was well reasoned. It is also his opinion and the opinion of his sources. It is a column, and as such is meant to be an opinion piece. You're right though, I should have said "primarily" an opinion piece because it is colored by stories from sources.

He also says, "I'm generally averse to the gossipy side of the program reports, because it's incongruent with my bottom line interest (enjoying football) and it tends to attract a variety of reader that I loathe." Insinuating that most of the article is based on just that, gossip.

He says, "This part is my surmise based on a couple of stories I won't relate." Meaning it is his opinion.

My post was mainly in response to the comment that I quoted. I was just pointing out the gap between all of the different things we hear about what happens inside the program. Mack is too soft vs. Mack is too hard on his assistants after a loss. Mack is just a hands off CEO vs. Mack meddles too much, etc.

I have been branded as a Mack apologist, but I am far from that. There are some very big problems with the program, the product on the field reflects that. If he walked away tomorrow, I would be just fine. I've just grown tired of people trying to take every single that happens and turn into an argument of why Mack is out of touch and why the program is terrible whether it be recruiting JUCOs or Harsin leaving or making Wyatt co-oc and the constant rumor mongering that goes along with it.