Earl Campbell: 'Texas Longhorns Should Fire Mack Brown'

Texas Longhorns football coach Mack Brown has had plenty of detractors the past few seasons. With the talent the Longhorns have on the team, there are some that say they are underachieving, and that may be a change that is needed on the sidelines.

Former Longhorns legend and 1977 Heisman trophy winner Earl Campbell is amongst the critics and thinks it's time for Brown to be replaced. Campbell told Fox 26 in Houston that it's about time for Brown and Texas to part ways.

"Nobody likes to get fired or leave a job, but things happen. I'd go on record and say 'yes I think it's time.' I'd just say this, I take my hat off for USC for what they've done. They didn't mess around with it. They just said 'let's do it now.' I think at some point our university's people are going to have make a decision.

"Some people get too old. If players get too old to play a game, why can't a coach get too old to coach it. If we're going to make a change I would like to say that we got one in the house, Jerry Gray, who's getting in the College Football Hall of Fame. I think that would be a good place to start.

"Very hard because Coach Brown is a very good man. I just hope he doesn't stay...he's done some great things. The program, he brought it back, and we don't need it to get run down where somebody has to start all over again, maybe Jerry Gray. I was part of a class in 1974 and I played for Coach Darrell Royal. We had the same players, but our junior year, I don't know, we just couldn't do anything right. Then he left our football team and retired.

"Coach Fred Akers came in, who coached me as a freshman at running back. We had the same players, I'm telling you. Coach Royal leaves. Coach Akers comes in. We win the Heisman and we lost to Notre Dame for the National Championship. So sometimes a change is good. I think this is what we're up against at the university. Nobody wants to say that, but somebody has to break the ice and say 'yes it's time.' "

Campbell wasn't saying it to be malicious, but coming from someone like Campbell and the ties he still has to the school, it has to sting a little.

I don't think Texas would pull a USC and fire Brown before the midway point of the season, but if he suffers another blowout loss to Oklahoma, the wheels might start turning. Especially seeing what their longtime rival, Texas A&M, has done since moving to the SEC.

I think the Texas brass will see how things play out before making a move. If Texas somehow wins the Big 12, it'll be hard to get rid of Brown unless he decides to walk away on his own. The only way an in-season firing happens is if the Longhorns suffer a debilitating loss to the Sooners.

This article was written by Chris Edwards. Follow him on Twitter here and read more of his work here.