major donor thinks UT could lure Saban


AUSTIN Fresh from a reprieve delivered by the Texas Board of Regents, UT president Bill Powers will finally sit down with football coach Mack Brown.


The pivotal meeting, scheduled now for Friday, will include new athletic director Steve Patterson and should clarify Brown's tenuous situation.


"We will be meeting over the next short period of time," Powers said after the regents did not take any action on his employment. "And I will leave it at that. I think it is inappropriate for me to be commenting further at this time."


Earlier this week, two sources with knowledge of the process indicated that Brown was expected to resign by the end of the week. Nothing has changed except maybe the time frame after a messy and somewhat surreal Thursday that included Powers, Brown and even major donor Red McCombs.


With the protracted regents meeting Thursday, the Texas football banquet scheduled for Friday and Brown's longstanding philosophy of not overshadowing his players, Authe... Lamin Barrow Jersey an announcement may not come until early next week.


Brown, attending a Valero Alamo Bowl news conference in San Antonio, took questions for the first time since the reports of his departure surfaced.


In a preemptive strike against any probing questions about his status, Brown raised it in his opening statement.


"There's been a little speculation about my job situation throughout this week, if some of you haven't noticed," Brown said. "My situation has not changed. He and Patterson talked for about three hours Sunday.


"Anytime your athletic director changes, that changes the game," Brown said."With all due respect to him, I want to sit down with he and Bill in the near future and talk about where we're going and our program is going."


So far, Brown has in no way, shape or form acknowledged the possibility of resigning. Whether it's a belief that he might return or a negotiating strategy, Brown has been nothing but consistent. For the third straight day, he spent time on the road recruiting, this time elite cornerback Tony Brown of Beaumont Ozen.


After one Brown filibuster, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said: "You're really good at this."


It's still about Brown and about rumors of Alabama coach Nick Saban replacing him.


Even McCombs, who founded the Alamo Bowl, got drawn into the discussion. He said he had no idea if Brown was done at Texas.


"If they let me make the decision, we wouldn't even be talking about it," said McCombs, whose name adorns the business school and north end zone expansion at Royal Memorial Stadium.


At the same time, McCombs faulted Brown for not having quality depth at quarterback. Inconsistent Case McCoy replaced injured David Ash early in the season.


McCombs professed confidence that Texas could lure Saban away from Alabama.


"Oh, I don't think there's any question about getting him," McCombs said, noting Texas had budget limitations when Brown was hired after the 1997 season.


"Hell, all the money that's not in the Vatican is up at UT," McCombs said. "If that's a problem, then I'm a part of the problem."


A former owner of the Minnesota Vikings, McCombs said he had never met Saban.


He knows enough about Saban to like him.


"I admire him not as much on his wins as what he gets out of his players," McCombs said. "I think Nick Saban takes a good player that's a good player and makes him a great player."


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