Rodney Terry is proving himself worthy to be the permanent head coach of Texas

Bryan Fisher

College football writer

Texas sporting director Chris Del Conte is used to making big and bold decisions.

While in the same location at TCU, one day, he hopped into his car amid the chaos of the convention reordering to drive down and sit outside the Longhorns AD Deloss Dodds office for a few hours. The two eventually went out to eat, where Del Conte convinced Dodds that the Horned Frog would be a perfect choice for large 12 (an official invitation was issued shortly thereafter).

In one of his first big acts when he took over Austin, Del Conte showed Tom Herman the door to becoming a football coach after breaking into the top 20 and winning a landslide to end the season. , quickly appointed Steve Sarkisian. A few months later, the sporting director stepped forward to help with the shocking passing of the UT engineer for SECOND.

After second seed Texas passed 10th place Penn State However, with a score of 71-66 on Saturday night, it may be time for Del Conte to make his boldest move yet and finally – and officially – strip that provisional title from the manager’s title. head coach Rodney Terry and made his tenure permanent in the state capital.

“Texas is back where we needed to be,” Terry cheerfully but measuredly told the broadcast that followed, trying to speak loudly enough to drown out the cheers of every player on the team for his love. love.

It was an emotional moment for all in burnt orange. Not just as a result of a tough comeback after losing eight points at halftime to the late Nittany Lions but because it rightly focused attention on the coach, who was based on the players during the past turbulent months. since former coach Chris Beard was fired after he was arrested in early December in a domestic violence case.

It’s fitting that it was Terry who was finally front and center for the Texas moment, celebrating the team’s first Sweet 16 trip in 15 years. An Angleton native (a suburb of Houston, site of this year’s Final Four) who played college football just down the street from the Mood Mood Center at Division II St. Edwards, he was one of Rick Barnes’ key assistants the last time UT joined the second weekend, having a reputation as an excellent employer in bringing Kevin DurantDJ Augustin, Tristan Thompson and others to 40 Acres.

Terry, who is also the head coach of Texas, said: “I got used to the sweet 16s in Texas. State of Fresno And UTEP. “I’m not bragging, but when I was here before, we were a little sweet 16.”

Now in his second stint on the show in 11 years, Terry has finally drawn attention not only to who is on the roster, but also for how they perform on the field – again using all the levers match as Texas wins sixth in a row.

Case in point is the timeout taken with 4:42 remaining, breaking Penn State’s 10-0 game in which they cornered UT on four field misses and several turns.

But the break proved to be just what the Longhorns needed, resulting in immediate layoffs that led to a race to regain the lead they never gave up again as Texas did it all. all six of his strokes until the final whistle blows.

Perhaps the message from Terry in the group chat was simple: Take it to Dylan Disu.

Senior people from right on the street in Pflugerville (by Vanderbilt) was easily the best player on the field, scoring 14 goals scored on the program in an NCAA Tournament game to overtake Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge and finish with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

The effort helped push Texas to a remarkable 8-0 score under their interim head coach in games decided by 5 points or less – a stat that makes it all the more remarkable. when the last one was in a match where it had survived 11 consecutive misses from outside the previous arc. Rice Sir’Jabari ended up rocking Texas’ home made only 3 points of the night with 8:32 left.

Regardless of what the school administration decides to do with Terry, the run he went through with the Longhorns could still turn out to be one of the best in recent memory for anyone with aspirations. landed one of the best jobs in the country. Team Defeat Kansas twice in a week before cutting the net in the Big 12 and going back to Kansas City after two big wins in frigid Des Moines coincided with a bitter opponent Texas A&M was eliminated early from Big Dance on Thursday.

UT will now move forward to play either Pitt the team starts running in the First Four as one of the last teams to enter the field or alike Xavier The party needs a little luck to escape the unpleasant payoff caused by State of Kennesaw on Friday. If Texas moves forward from there, a trip to Final Four will go against Houston in the Elite Eight or either equally flawed miami And India.

At least a manageable path, especially for a group with the talent to reach the ultimate basketball prize not far from where Terry grew up.

If the Longhorns can finally make the trip down Highway 290 to NRG Stadium, Texas could also sign a contract or risk a fan uprising.

In that case, Del Conte would happily trade a magic bracelet for what was previously thought to be a no-brainer hire – as much as it would hurt AD if he didn’t catch a fish. big after much speculation that famous candidates like Kentucky‘s John Calipari was among those on the administration’s shortlist.

After all, it’s not too bold to hire a coach with a career track record above the 0.500 mark. But after what Terry proved to a group of intrepid players this March, it may be the right thing to do for a Texas show that looks set to keep rolling and making decisions out of the box. reach of hand.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He’s covered college athletics for nearly two decades at agencies like NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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