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It started innocently enough yesterday, with a report on InsideTexas.com from a reputable fan blogger that included a conversation with a major booster at Texas... A conversation that indicated what we all assumed: Fans and donors are tired of Mack Brown and think he has lost the program, it is time for a change.
Then, as if it was organized (which I think it probably is), word began to leak onto premium message boards such as OrangeBloods.com (The Inside Texas Forum)($) that not only were the top donors such as Mr. Hicks or McCombs tired of Mack Brown and were using their considerable power and voice to create action in the athletic department, but that Gary Patterson had emerged as the clear #1 choice for a new head coach.
And, to put icing on the cake, several posters on the aforementioned sites indicated that Gary Patterson has been contacted through secondary channels (the ones you don't have to mention in a press conference), and that Patterson had indicated he would be potentially interested in the opening at Texas.
This isn't one voice alone in the woods, like a Chip Brown tweet of years past... This is a bunch of voices, behind pay walls, all speaking the same language.
We should listen this time folks.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to any TCU fan, it has long been thought that there were few jobs Gary Patterson would leave for: Texas, Kansas State (despite turning it down years ago), or the NFL being several of them.
As with all rumors, you have to take this with a grain of salt and use skepticism as a tool of clarity.
But, in the last few years of college football news, where there has been smoke there is almost always fire.
Count me in with the crowd that sees a fire down in Austin, with Gary taking the safety pin out of his fire extinguisher.
We will have to wait and see how this unfolds over the coming weeks/days, but know this: There are no amount of houses being built, wives being involved or hatred of dumb traditions that would keep Gary away from an ambition or a goal.
If Gary wants the job at Texas, it appears it might be his... Now, we wait to see if/when the smoke clears.
UPDATE: Looks like Auburn is interested in Patterson as well...