Mack Brown fighting to remain Texas head coach, according to reports

If Mack Brown goes, it appears it won't be Mack Brown's choice. Update: Mack Brown is stepping down.

By Scott Coleman@scottcoleman55 Dec 13, 2013, 9:30pm EST

Despite numerous reports suggesting Texas head football coach Mack Brown would step down this week, he'll try to remain on the job, according to a report from 247 Sports. The news arrives after public remarks at an Austin banquet on Friday night, in which Brown and other Texas dignitaries made no indications of his exit.

BREAKING: Source tells me that Mack Brown, following mtg w school prez and AD, will remain coach of the Longhorns.
— Bobby Burton (@BobbyBurton247) December 14, 2013

(The news also arrives minutes after Nick Saban signed a long-term deal at Alabama, for what it's worth.)

There was also this, from before the banquet:

A source tells OB that one of the most prominent high school coaches in the state was informed in the last hour that Mack is staying.
— Geoff Ketchum (@gkketch) December 14, 2013

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Both Brown and athletic director Steve Patterson made references Friday night to working together in the future. But according to an ESPN report, the future at Texas could still be awkward yet:

Brown had previously confided in those close to him that he was resigning, the source said. However, Brown was "enraged" when the news leaked to the media, and he decided to change course, according to the source.

All week, it seemed Brown's days at Texas were numbered, especially entering Friday night's team banquet. Brown continued to refute those reports throughout the week, though, and said his situation in Austin had not changed when he met with the media to discuss Texas' upcoming showdown with Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.

"There's been a little speculation about my job situation throughout this week, if you all haven't noticed," Brown said at the conference broadcast by ESPN. "We're here to talk about the bowl game, we're not here to talk about me."

"My situation has not changed," he said. "I've got the best president in the country in Bill Powers."

Brown spent 16 years at UT after coming over from North Carolina following the 1997 season. He led the Longhorns to a 158-47 record, including a perfect 13-0 mark in 2005 as Texas defeated USC to win the national title. Perhaps most impressively, Texas went 10-4 in their bowl games under Brown, with one of those losses coming against Alabama in the 2009 National Championship. They also won the Rose Bowl in 2004 and the Fiesta Bowl in 2008.