Rick Barnes who led the UT Men’s Basketball Team to 16 NCAA tournament appearances in his 17 seasons is officially out as Texas’ coach.  Rumors of Barnes’ demise had been circulating for weeks.  Many thought that Barnes’ tenure at Texas was doomed the moment that Steve Patterson (formerly of the Houston Rockets and a serious basketball devotee) was named as Athletic Director.

At a press conference, Barnes revealed some of the machinations that led to the “mutual agreement” of Barnes and UT to part ways.  Barnes claimed that Patterson had told him that he would be back for another season after UT lost to Butler in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  Barnes further confirmed Patterson told him a few days ago he had to fire staff or be fired himself.  Barnes told Patterson that he could not fire his assistants. “I couldn’t do that. That would be me saying this is about me. I’ve been carried by a lot of people here. We’re in this together.” Barnes also said his staff offered to quit but he refused to let them.

Barnes leaves as UT’s all time leader in wins (402), NCAA tournament appearances (16), and NCAA tournament wins (19).  That said, his performance over the last few seasons left him vulnerable.  UT had failed to advance past the second round since 2008 when they made their last Elite Eight appearance.  Texas’ free fall from a top 10 ranking early in the season to being easily finished off in the NCAA Tournament probably sealed his fate.

Burnt Orange Report speculates on the likely candidates to replace Barnes.