What could've been for the University of Texas.

Shortly after winning his third national championship at Alabama in 2012, Saban reached out to the Longhorns' power brass through agent Jimmy Sexton to get a feel for where the program might be heading following Mack Brown's — by program standards — disappointing season, his third straight outside of the Big 12's driver seat.

According to Dallas billionaire and former UT regent Tom Hicks, the nation's top coach was interested in bringing Texas back to prominence.

“Another regent and I had the conversation with Saban’s agent and he said, ‘If Saban was a business guy, he’d be what you would call a turnaround artist. He’s not a longterm CEO. Fix it, win and go on. He knows he will never catch Bear Bryant’s legacy in Alabama, but he’d like to create his legacy that he’s won national championships at more schools than anybody else. He’s done it at LSU and Alabama, and he knows he can win a national championship at Alabama; he knows he can,'” Hicks said recently on Your Turn with Corby Davidson podcast.

Texas regents were familiar with Saban's prominence after the Longhorns had lost to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game to end the 2009 season. Brown's tenure had soured, highlighted by an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma in 2012, and Hicks said he approached the Texas coach two days after Alabama had captured its third title in four years.

The proposed coaching transition plan from Brown to Saban didn't go over well.

"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.’

“Mack Brown turned bright red. Steam started coming out of his ears, and he said, ‘That guy is not coming here to win a national championship with my players.’ I said, ‘Mack, I’m glad to see you have that passion. I didn’t think you had that passion left.”

Brown would stay in Austin one more season before his tenure ended following an eight-win finish in 2013. The Longhorns ultimately hired Charlie Strong after Saban inked a new multi-year contract extension that kept Texas at bay. Strong went 16-21 over three seasons before he was replaced by current coach Tom Herman.

Saban is now one national championship away from passing Bryant's all-time record, a feat he never thought he'd accomplish, based on Hicks' conversation with Sexton.