Nick Saban Reportedly Pursued Texas Job After 3rd Title at Alabama But Got Denied

Oh, man. Where would the Texas Longhorns be if Nick Saban were at the helm? Well, we almost found out, following Alabama's third national championship under his watchful eye back in 2012.

After that 2012 title, Saban reached out to the Longhorns through his agent Jimmy Sexton to see where the program was at after another disappointing season from Mack Brown.

According to billionaire and former Texas regent Tom Hicks, Saban was interested in coaching at Texas and making them a powerhouse program once again.

That would have been a huge get, obviously, but Mack Brown was not having it.

"We had lunch and I thought at the time he was ready to leave," Hicks said. "He’d been telling people he was ready to leave. So I said, ‘Mack, I want to tell you about a conversation I had with Jimmy Sexton. If you want to retire, I think you can graciously have Nick Saban come in and take your place and have it be your idea. That might be a nice way for you to end it.’

According to Hicks, Brown turned beet red and did not want Saban coming to Texas and winning a national championship with "[his] players."

It appears Mack Brown's pride got in the way of this happening. As you know, Brown would stay one more year before being replaced by Charlie Strong, who went 16-21 over three seasons in Austin before Tom Herman came in to replace him.

Since 2012, Saban has won two more titles at Alabama, one shy of breaking Bear Bryant's all-time record.