Texas Coaching Rumors: Monday Morning Hot Board

To the surprise of about six people, on Saturday Mack Brown announced he'd step down as Texas Head Coach after the Alamo Bowl on December 30. There are a number of possible replacements for Brown, with Texas currently combing the NFL to look for interested candidates at the highest level. From what we've heard, though, it sounds like another college coach will end up taking over in Austin.

Nick Saban, Texas' #1 choice to replace Brown, signed a contract extension on Friday that took him out of the running. With Saban no longer an option, here are the five most likely candidates to take over for Brown at Texas (as of Monday morning).

5. Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Head Coach

Fisher's Seminoles are in the national title game. Jameis Winston just became the second freshman ever to win the Heisman trophy, and will be back next year to build on this season's success. Texas is very impressed by what Fisher has accomplished in Tallahassee, but they'd need to throw a massive offer at him to get him to walk away from what he has going on at Florida State. While there were rumors of mutual interest a few months back, that was before FSU was a national title contender.

4. Urban Meyer, Ohio State Head Coach

Meyer also has a good thing going - his Buckeyes may not be in the national title game, but they're poised to dominate the Big 10 for the foreseeable future. Texas will reach out to Meyer in the coming weeks (if they haven't already), but he may not feel ready to move after just two seasons in Columbus. Meyer is an Ohio native, and while Texas will probably throw an absurd amount of money his way, it might not be enough.

3. David Shaw, Stanford Head Coach

Unlike Fisher and Meyer, Shaw is at a logical stopping place. A number of key players including Tyler Gaffney, Ben Gardner and Shayne Skov will all be moving on after this season, and if Shaw wants to work for an elite program without Stanford's academic restrictions, now is the time. Texas is very impressed with Shaw, and word on the street is that the Texas athletic department has already reached out to his agent.

2. Art Briles, Baylor Head Coach

You'd be hard pressed to find a coach held in higher esteem than Art Briles in the state of Texas. An offensive wizard with impressive recruiting clout, there are a number of Big 12 coaches worried about what would happen if Briles got the Texas job. As one coach summed it up, "he might never lose."

Briles is staying quiet about possible interest in the Texas job, but with the coaching search heating up this week we'd expect to hear more about Briles in the very near future.

1. Gus Malzahn, Auburn Head Coach

Malzahn signed a contract extension just weeks ago, but he's also labeled Texas as his dream job, and there's definite interest in Austin. Malzahn is another Texas native who grew up watching the Longhorns on Saturdays, and if they come calling (which is pretty much inevitable at this point) he'll have a hard time saying no.

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Additional Reading:

How Awful QB Recruiting Led to Mack Brown's Downfall At Texas

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