But instead, it seems, Shaka is engineering his own exit … and things are happening so quickly in Austin that the Longhorns may already have their eye on a replacement.

As a long-time observer of Longhorns hoops, I was thrilled when Smart arrived in Austin in 2015. He took tiny Virginia Commonwealth to the Final Four in 2011, and with his trademark “Havoc” full-court press fueled by Texas’ superior athletes surely he would restore some burnt orange glory and flirt with a national championship.

But six years later, nope. Not even close.

Texas’ highlight under Smart: Winning the NIT in 2019. The lowlight: An embarrassing loss to Abilene Christian in last week’s first round of March Madness.

Smart is merely the author of one of the nation’s most overhyped, underperforming programs. He’s won only 56 percent of his games, is 0-3 in the NCAA tourney (with losses to Northern Iowa, Nevada and ACU), failed to establish an identity and, worst of all, wasted promising careers and NBA talent.

Texas’ roster during Smart’s tenure has included Mo Bamba, Jarrett Allen and Jaxson Hayes, all playing in basketball’s best league. And this year his team featured quality guards Matt Coleman, Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey, and big men Jericho Sims and Kai Jones. The latter two are also destined to play in the NBA.

Bestowed that level of talent and not being able to win a game – just one – in March Madness over six seasons is a fireable offense.

This season – with the college-basketball luxury of having his two best players (Coleman and Sims) being seniors – Smart’s Horns were ranked as high as No. 4. But they regressed as the season progressed. Teammates fought in huddles during games. Highly-touted freshman Greg Brown’s immense talent couldn’t be harnessed. Smart’s team was consistently out-coached, consistently failing to create good looks on end-of-game possessions. They won playground games with fast tempos when their raw athleticism was allowed to flourish. They won games where Jones bailed out awful execution with clutch jumpers. And they won the Big XII tournament, thanks to a lucky first-round escape against Texas Tech and a COVID walkover “win” against Kansas.

But against Abilene Christian – which was throttled by 20 points by UCLA two nights later – the Longhorns were suckered into a slow-down game decided on fundamentals, half-court execution and basketball IQ.

The result: Texas committed 23 turnovers and made only 18 shots. Smart’s worst year at VCU was better than his best year at Texas.

My position going into this week? I’d seen enough; this should be his last year in Austin.

The new position today? Shaka is off to Marquette (inside scoop here) and Texas, as first reported by LonghornsCountry.com, is already hot on the trail of chasing Chris Beard of Texas Tech. “On the trail” meaning, according to our sources, “actively pursuing.” Like, right now.

*Perspective, personified. Mark Cuban forced Avery Johnson to coach without contract security in 2008, then fired him after the Dallas Mavericks’ first-round playoff loss.

Jerry Jones did the same with Jason Garrett after the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach went 8-8 and missed the postseason in 2019.

The Texas Rangers are taking a much different approach to lame-duck coaching, avoiding the scenario altogether this week by awarding manager Chris Woodward by exercising their 2022 option, a sort of one-year contract extension.

The situations are obviously diverse.

The 2008 Mavericks were coming off a 67-win season with lofty expectations. The 2019 Cowboys were talented, but stuck on the .500 treadmill.

The Rangers, meanwhile, are near the rock bottom of their rebuilding. With Woodward entering the final year of his initial three-year deal signed in 2018, no reason to add undue pressure and unrealistic expectations to a manager who will not be judged by anything that occurs in 2021.

Still, it’s fascinating how Johnson and Garrett were dangled as lame ducks and then fired for not having post-season success, while Woodward (who is 100-122 in Arlington) is rewarded with long-term security for having not chance at it.

*It wasn’t a major deal. But then again, it was better than a “we like our boys in blue” non-deal.

The Mavs essentially found a replacement for Seth Curry at Thursday’s trade deadline, acquiring 36-year-old sharpshooter J.J. Redick and forward Nicolo Melli in a deal sending James Johnson, Wes Iwundu and a second-round draft pick to the Pelicans.