SMU AD Rick Hart says school has not contacted Mack Brown about coaching job

A day after a report surfaced connecting former Texas head coach Mack Brown to the opening at SMU, Rick Hart, the Mustangs’ athletic director, took to Twitter to put an end to the speculation.

The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that SMU had already engaged in “preliminary discussions” with the 63-year-old Brown that included a salary of “$4 million annually over eight years.”

Brown, who now works as an analyst at ESPN, coached at Texas from 1998 through the end of the 2013 season and compiled a 158-48 overall record and won the 2005 BCS National Championship.

SMU is looking to replace June Jones, who resigned in September after the Mustangs started 0-2. Since then, defensive coordinator Tom Mason has been leading the program which is now 0-6 on the season heading into Saturday’s home game against Memphis.

Joe Jamail, Brown’s agent, told Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman that Brown will decide in December if he wants to return to coaching. Jamail said that SMU was one of schools that reached out to Brown.

“He was approached, I was approached, but he’s not interested in coaching anywhere right now,” Jamail said.

With Brown’s obvious ties to the state of Texas, his candidacy at SMU makes sense. It’s clear that the school’s search to replace Jones is still in its infancy, so it remains to be seen if Brown’s name will continue to be linked to the opening.

For more SMU news, visit PonyPride.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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