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Texas fires athletic director Steve Patterson week of Cal game, will consider Mack Brown

Odd circus we're walking into Austin.

By Avinash Kunnath
Brian Bahr/Getty Images

I don't have that much concern for the University of Texas and the woes of the most profitable athletic department in all of college football. I think they'll be okay.

That being said, it took Texas 22 months (22 months!) to decide that athletic director Steve Patterson wasn't the guy who should be leading the Longhorns into the future. Crazy.

Patterson's tenure has been marked by issues off the field, though. Texas president Gregory Fenves was reportedly close to firing Patterson just a day ago, and this past offseason, Patterson was reportedly told to "change his personal style" when it comes to dealing with boosters and coaches.

Patterson gained a reputation for being cheap. He cut free meals for Texas coaches, netting pretty much nothing (relatively) in savings. He also reportedly began charging opponents to bring their bands to games. Like ousted Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, he was seen as too corporate and business-like for the job.

None of us really know anything about Steve Patterson. The Internet tells me he was not very good at his job. He alienated donors (yeah good luck getting any job in college football doing that) and did a lot of penny pinching to save money for (again) the most profitable athletic department in all of college football.

But I would admit I'd find the return of Cal's best friend to Austin quite amusing.

Oh, this is rich. Texas putting Mack Brown, the coach who was just fired by Texas, in charge of Charlie Strong, the coach who replaced him and apparently does not seem to care all that much for just seems like something that's bound to end well. Texas fans are already queasy at the notion.

What does all this chaos signal for our game? Well, the coaches could be very distracted thinking about their potential futures, as whoever becomes the new athletic director will hold their fates in their hands. Chaos at Texas football tends to breed rapid change like European revolutions.

It could also motivate the team to perform better after two disappointing performances. I'm not sure how many teams rally for a fallen athletic director, but I'm sure it's standard operating procedure at power football Texas high schools since they probably get axed every other week.

The final verdict.

TRAP. TRAP. THIS IS A TRAP.

You can read more about the state of Texas fans at Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival.

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