Briles and Mora Nix the Longhorns

Another day, another dollar, and yet another coach -- or coaches, in this case -- turning down the Texas job.

Baylor coach Art Briles announced Friday that he will remain with Baylor.

Briles released this statement:

"I have no desire to pursue other coaching positions."As I've said many times, I am both humbled and honored to be the head coach at Baylor University and believe we have something special going here.

"I look forward to leading the Bears onto the field next fall at McLane Stadium and defending our Big 12 championship that our players and coaches worked so hard to win this season."

I think this also puts to rest the rumors of Briles being interested in the Washington Redskins job, as well.

Another coach in the mix was Jim Mora of UCLA who also said no to Texas.

Mora said this to the Los Angeles Times:

"It is always flattering when someone is interested in you, but I am committed to being the UCLA coach."

This one was a non-starter from the outset. If Mora would have gone anywhere, it would have been Washington, where he was raised and played. Remember, he put his head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons at risk by saying that the Huskies were his dream team.

Where does Texas turn now? Apparently to the balance of the original contestants: James Franklin, Jimbo Fisher, and Charlie Strong

And Fisher has yet to take his name out of the mix, which I find interesting. That option is sure to heat up after Monday night's BCS Championship game if a coach isn't named by then.

Here's what's ridiculous about all the hype: Name the most successful head coach of the Longhorns. His appointment generated a universal "Who?" when it was announced, maybe because he was a combined 17-13 at his previous stops, Mississippi State and Washington. Yes, football was a life-and-death issue to Texans back then, too. But the search committee simply did its job and looked beyond the popular names. And then Darrell Royal simply did his job, all the way to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Here's something else to ponder: Pete Carroll, who was a failure with the New York Jets, was USC's fourth choice! For all Mike Garrett did and didn't do as the AD there, he knew what to look for in a coach, even though it wasn't a popular announcement at the time. That perception changed in a hurry, didn't it!

Maybe the kajillionaire boosters were good at whatever made them kajillionaires, but that doesn't mean they know the best fit for coaching the Longhorns. It'll never happen, but if they left AD Steve Patterson alone, he just mind find someone as successful as Mack Brown was during the bulk of his reign.

He might even find another Darrell Royal.