Horns247 Board

Here's what we know.

Texas has positions available at:

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Defensive coordinator/linebackers
Offensive line
Defensive tackle

Additionally, you have the following rumors or expectations...

* Bobby Kennedy, the wide receivers coach, may or may not be leaving the program.

* Major Applewhite and Duane Akina were thought to be possible departures to Florida.

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Let's start with Bobby Kennedy.

I think it's 75-25 whether Kennedy stays or goes. At one point, I would have put that figure at 95-percent "out the door".

I still think he's probably gone, either to Colorado or elsewhere as an assistant coach.

But I think the percentage dipped considerably based on the departure of Will Muschamp because all of a sudden Mack Brown needed to fill five coaching spots instead of four.

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As for Applewhite and Akina...

Last week, the Texas football program sent an email to players parents that addressed the rumors of Duane Akina, Major Applewhite and George Wynn possibly going to Florida with Will Muschamp.

In the email, Brown said those rumors were untrue.

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I still think either Applewhite or Akina could leave for other jobs.

However, I'd put those odds with Akina at remote. Very remote.

For Akina to move, it would have to be the sort of offer that would truly change his family's financial situation.

It wouldn't be about a significant "title" change or if he had another NFL offer to mull. Akina has proven time and again that he's not about an increased title or an opportunity to coach in the NFL.

What he wants is stability for his family, to make a good living and to coach - simple as that. As long as Mack Brown and Texas provide that, he's not going out looking for jobs to further his career.

For Applewhite, it's a different story because he's at an entirely different stage of his career. If he's offered an opportunity to call plays at a BCS level school and compensated appropriately for it, not taking such a position may jeopardize his coaching future.

Again, I think it's unlikely either Applewhite or Akina move and that's not just based on Brown's email. But at least you'd have the justification behind it if they were to move.

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At offensive coordinator, we have mentioned several names over the past couple of weeks, but I really think it looks like it is coming down to three primary players.

Paul Chryst - Wisconsin
Bryan Harsin - Boise State
Major Applewhite - Texas

Some folks like Harsin better. Others like Chryst. I like both of them, but I also think they would be "mercenary" hires.

The first sign of success for either of them, and they'd be immediate head coaching candidates. In fact, both of them have already had head coaching overtures, just not ones they'd take.

Maybe that's what the doctor ordered. An established OC comes in, Applewhite learns their theory or style for a year and then Applewhite becomes the OC when they leave.

But offensive hires are different to me than defensive ones. They take longer to be fruitful.

So what happens if you're only in year one of a new offense, and all of a sudden you have another change?

An offensive merry-go-round is not a smart move IMO and that's what it might look like if you go with either Harsin or Chryst. Maybe they should be the hires, but just realize you're probably only going to get a year out of either of them if they have any success.

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At defensive coordinator, everybody by now knows that Justin Wilcox of Tennessee has at least entered the fray.

And most assume that Teryl Austin is completely out of the race. But that is not what I have heard.

Both are supposedly under consideration.

I think Wilcox makes more sense. He's schemed against the spread, the pistol and the option and he's seen true power football this past year in the SEC.

Austin, meanwhile, has never had to scheme against the option or the pistol as a coordinator, or even a true spread. His lone year of being a coordinator comes in the SEC, where offensive play is not exactly the center of creativity.

Some fringe candidates may also emerge.

I think a couple of veteran SEC coordinators, John Chavis of LSU and Ellis Johnson of South Carolina, may get a call if Austin or Wilcox don't fit the bill. Or even someone like Phil Bennett, who was just let go from Pittsburgh.

Johnson, Chavis and Bennett are guys who have been through the wars. They have a little more gray on them and may provide more of a stabilizing force to the defensive side of the ball.

We have mentioned Everett Withers of North Carolina in the past but I don't think that is in the cards based on what I have been told, both directly and indirectly. And rumors of Randy Shannon being a possibility have been repeatedly shot down by people close to the program.

Another name that has been mentioned, Jerry Gray, has not been contacted, we are told.

So if you're looking at the defensive coordinator position, it looks something like this:

Justin Wilcox - Tennessee
Teryl Austin - Florida

Then another group that could include:

Ellis Johnson - South Carolina
John Chavis - LSU
Jerry Gray - Seattle Seahawks
Phil Bennett - Pittsburgh

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With the news that Steve Adazzio is no longer a possibility for OL coach, we bring back the names we have mentioned previously.

Bob Bostad - Wisconsin
Joe Wickline - Oklahoma State
Jeff Grimes - Auburn

One name that could be interesting is Rick Trickett, the OL coach from Florida State. But Trickett's style of coaching may not mesh with what Brown expects of his assistants.

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Tim Cross continues to be a coach to watch for the defensive tackle position.