Posted by: Chris Vannini on November 7, 2012

The college football world is mourning the loss of Darrell Royal today.

Royal's most prominent success came at the University of Texas where he was a coach and administrator for more than 20 years.

Mack Brown, who was very close with Royal, released a statement on his passing.

"Today is a very sad day," the statement reads. "I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero. College football lost maybe its best ever and the world lost a great man. I can hardly put in words how much Coach Royal means to me and all that he has done for me and my family. I wouldn't even be at Texas without Coach. His council and friendship meant a lot to me before I came to Texas, but it's been my guiding light for my 15 years here. 

"Coach gave so much more to the State of Texas and college football than he took away. He forgot more football than most of us will ever know, including me. His impact on the game, the coaches and players, the community and the millions of lives he touched, is insurmountable. He will be missed in so many ways.

"I lost my dad when I was 54, and Coach filled a real void in my life and treated me like family. Sally and I gained a lot coming to Texas and being a part of this tremendous program but no more than our relationship with Coach and Edith. They were our closest of friends. Our heart pours out to Edith and the family and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family. We will always be there to lend any and all support that we can as she and Coach always did for us."

Brown also tweeted that the Longhorns will wear DKR decals on their helmets and line up in the wishbone to start this weekend's game against Iowa State. Very cool.

Today we mourn the loss & Sat we celebrate. We'll wear a DKR decal on our helmet & we'll honor coach by lining up in wishbone to start game

— Mack Brown (@UT_MackBrown) November 7, 2012

____________________________________________________________

Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com