5 Potential Replacements For Mack Brown At Texas

University of Texas football coach Mack Brown is expected to resign this week, according to sources.

Brown has been the Longhorns head coach since 1998, and has had relatively good success. Texas won the 2005 BCS National Championship and the Big 12 Championship in 2005 and 2009.

Since losing in the 2009 National Championship game, Texas hasn’t been the same. This year, the Longhorns are 8-4 and finished fourth in the Big 12.

Texas is one of the biggest head coaching gigs out there, and the vacated head coaching seat won’t be empty for long. Here are 5 potential replacements for Mack Brown at Texas.

Ed Orgeron

Ed Orgeron took over for Lane Kiffin this season and led the Trojans to a 6-2 record before getting passed over for the full time head coaching position. That job was given to Steve Sarkisian.

Orgeron did a good job while at the helm in southern Cal, and has definitely put himself on the radar to land another head coaching gig. He won’t be Texas’ first choice, but he’s definitely a candidate worth looking at.

James Franklin

James Franklin has turned around the Vanderbilt completely, and has led the Commodores to three straight bowl games. Before Franklin, Vandy was the laughingstock of the SEC.

Franklin doesn’t have the track record of some of the other candidates, but his youth could be appealing to Texas. The 41-year-old coach could be the head of the program for decades.

Dabo Swinney

Dabo Swinney has turned Clemson into a national powerhouse in college football. In just six seasons as head coach, Swinney has won 50 games and taken the Tigers to two BCS Bowls.

Swinney is a great recruiter and Texas produces as much elite high school talent as any state in the country. If Texas can get a majority of the elite talent in the state, it won’t be long before the Longhorns are back in the National Championship conversation.

Nick Saban

Nick Saban is the best coach in college football right now. Hands down. No question about it. But if Texas wants to lure Saban away from Alabama, the school is going to have to break the bank to get him.

Rumors have it that Texas may be willing to offer Saban $110 million over 10 seasons for Saban, which is almost double his annual salary now. The other knock on Saban is that he’s 62 years old already, and who knows how much longer he’ll want to coach.

Texas is looking for a long-term solution, and Saban may not want to coach for another 10 years.

David Shaw

David Shaw is that dude. After taking over for Jim Harbaugh three seasons ago, Shaw has led the Stanford Cardinal to a 34-6 record, two BCS Bowls, two Pac-12 Championships and has been named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice.

Imagine what Shaw could do with the resources that Texas has. The possibities are endless.

At 41 years old, Shaw could see the Texas job as a final destination — not a stepping stone — which makes him even more interesting as a potential candidate.

[tps_footer]By Mike Lucas[/tps_footer]