Nick Saban Reportedly Leaving Alabama To Coach Texas Longhorns, Mack Brown Resigning

Nick Saban is ready to jump from Alabama and take over as coach of the Texas Longhorns, reports from Forth Worth say.

A source close to the Texas executive council of regents confirmed that Saban will become the next coach at Texas, and reports from within Texas University say that current Longhorns coach Mack Brown will be stepping down.

The Nick Saban report, which come from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, come as a surprise to many. Saban has won three national championships with Alabama and seemed to be on track again this year until a shocking loss to Auburn at the Iron Bowl. Saban is also already the highest-paid coach in college football, making $5.5 million per year.

But Texas has deep pockets, can afford to give Nick Saban a raise, and has consistently been one the nation’s most dedicated programs.

There is still uncertainty as to whether Saban would be leaving Alabama. Saban’s quarterback, AJ McCarron, said he believes his coach will stay with the Crimson Tide.

“I messed with coach, [saying] he’s getting too old to start up again somewhere else,” A.J. McCarron said Thursday on ESPN. “He told me he’s not leaving. And I know Miss Terry [Saban’s wife] well enough; she runs that house. And she’s not allowing coach to leave either. I think he’ll be at the University of Alabama for a little while.”

The reports, which have yet to be confirmed by either Nick Saban or Texas, come after other unconfirmed reports that longtime Texas coach Mack Brown will be stepping down by the end of the week. The official line from Texas remains that there has been no decision on Mack Brown’s future, and Texas athletic director Steve Patterson did not give details on whether Brown would return.

Brown added his own denial, telling Horns247: ”I have not decided to step down.”

Last week, Texas University president Bill Powers spoke up on the issue, clarifying that he had no agreement with Nick Saban.

“I’ve never met Nick Saban. I’ve never talked to Nick Saban. We have not hired Nick Saban,” Powers told the Austin American-Statesman on Thursday afternoon. “Mack’s our coach, and I can say flatly that the rumors we have hired or come to an agreement with Nick Saban or even talked to him are false.”

But even in this statement, Powers did not eliminate the possibility that Nick Saban could be coming to Texas, just that it hadn’t happened yet. And if reports from Texas are true, that announcement could be coming soon.