Tom Herman will be introduced as Texas’ new coach during a press conference on Sunday afternoon. He will probably talk about how great it is to rejoin the program. Herman will pay tribute to former Texas coach Mack Brown. He will share his vision for the program (somebody tell him “Putting the T back in Texas” was used before, and it did not go very well). His family will be all smiles as they watch this young man officially inherit the Longhorn program.
Texas fans are in unison again. They finally have hope after three dismal seasons. Nobody truly knows how things will work out for newly hired coach, but it is hard to believe the floor will be five wins and hoping Texas will back its way into a bowl game with a losing record. Every time I read about the different bowl game scenarios for this losing team, it reminds me how far the program has fallen, and the challenge facing Herman as he takes over this program.
Herman will win at Texas. I believe it will be a matter of time before this program is where it needs to be.
However, before you place unrealistic expectations on Herman in year one, just remember this program is a mess right now.
Give Herman some time.
Yeah, I know.
This totally goes against everything former coach Charlie Strong has been telling everyone the past few weeks. Strong began planting seeds in everybody’s head that this will be a 10-win team next season, even if he is not here in 2017. In fact, he recently upped the expectations for his future replacement by saying this group is good enough to compete for a national title in the future. Pretty slick move if you think about it.
Strong was secretly trying to set himself up to receive some credit next season if the team is successful since he recruited these players. If Texas does not meet those expectations, maybe somebody will believe Strong could have turned this program into a national title contender if given one more year. Strong may believe that, but nobody else is buying it.
When I covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, people used to discredit Jon Gruden’s Super Bowl title all the time. Critics would often say Gruden won the Super Bowl with Tony Dungy’s players. They would point to Pro Bowlers that Dungy drafted and say Gruden had a team ready to succeed. Basically, the cake was already made, and all Gruden needed to do was put on the icing.
I always had a problem with that.
Why?
Because Dungy could not win a Super Bowl with Dungy’s team.
I am not comparing Strong to Dungy (I am not that sleep deprived). Instead, I am saying if a coach cannot win with his own players, he definitely does not deserve credit for somebody else’s success. Whenever Herman does win, he can credit Strong if he wants to, but that praise should be his optional.
Look, Strong was the first black coach at Texas. He was a good person. He cleaned up the program and added talent. He successfully navigated the recruiting landscape in Texas.
Those are the positive things you can say about him.
However, it is hard to get past that 16-21 record over three seasons. The embarrassing loses. Consistently blaming the team’s lack of success to leadership and failed execution. The questionable play-calling during games. A fan base that lost hope under his guidance. The media members who ran out of questions this season because they did not believe Strong would go off script and be transparent - or if he truly knew how to solve the team’s problems.
Longhorn fans need to place realistic expectations on Herman, and that starts with eight wins in 2017. If he goes over that amount, throw him a parade, but make sure you understand he has an uphill battle to fight.
Strong inherited an eight-win Mack Brown team that was considered a mess. If that is the case, let us not act like Herman has some sort of advantage by taking over a five-win team that could not defeat Kansas this season. Brown was criticized for not getting the most out of his highly ranked classes. Ironically, Strong was criticized for not getting the most out of his highly ranked classes. Everyone said Strong had to clean up Mack’s mess. Well, the same goes for Herman.
Longhorn observers were told by playing so many freshmen in 2015, it would lead to success this season. Instead, receiver John Burt regressed, cornerbacks Davante Davis and Holton Hill became role players after starting last season, offensive lineman Patrick Vahe was benched, and former 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson rode the bench at times. Herman has some work ahead of him.
Herman takes over a program with quarterback Shane Buechele, but he definitely hit the wall late in this season. Some of that can be blamed on the play-calling. However, Buechele made some bad throws down the stretch, and threw potential interceptions that were dropped. Herman will inherit incoming freshman Sam Ehlinger and redshirt freshman Matthew Merrick. However, Herman will need to decide if they can run his system, or if he needs to get his “own” quarterback.
Clearly, Herman needs to recruit offensive lineman and establish some depth there.
We know running back Chris Warren is good, but we did not see much from the other ball carriers.
The defensive line flashed at times, but was very inconsistent.
These linebackers and defensive backs struggle to make basic tackles.
Herman inherits a great punter, but somebody needs to tell him he does not have a kicker.
If Herman can turn Texas into a 10-win team next season, he instantly joins Nick Saban and Urban Meyer as one of the great coaches in college football. However, he may need some time before Texas is back in the national championship discussion Strong predicts will occur.
Why?
Herman is inheriting a team that lost to Kansas.
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1. Strong was not a good fit in Texas. Avoid the temptation to disrespect the man on his way out of town. History proves Strong does have the ability to coach, and this unsuccessful stint at Texas should not overshadow the impressive resume he had prior to this job.
2. I would be surprised if Strong was a defensive coordinator next season. Honestly, I see him holding out for a head coaching position. If he sits out next season, allows the bad memories of this season to slowly fade away, and have his friends at ESPN bang the drums for him next year, he could obtain a good job in 2018.
3. Now that Herman is hired, Texas still needs to acquire a premier athletic director. The Longhorns need to apply a full-court press to obtain Oliver Luck in the near future. Things may have eventually worked out, but adding Luck to the athletic department will strengthen that department.
4. It is funny to hear LSU complaining about Herman backtracking on his verbal agreement with the school. This is the same university that planned to fire Les Miles last year, left him dangling in the wind, decided to keep him at the last minute, then fired him four games into this season? This is also the also school that was pursuing Jimbo Fisher and Herman at the same time? Yeah, go ahead and pump the loyalty brakes, Tigers.
5. Welcome to Austin, Herman:
6. There is definitely no need for running back D’Onta Foreman to return for this senior season after rushing for over 2,000 yards. If Foreman needs to learn a new offense, he might as well do it in the NFL as a millionaire. The time to get paid is now.
7. If there is one thing Herman can learn from Charlie Strong, he needs to hire the best and brightest coaches available. Strong pulled an MC Hammer and took care of his friends. Herman needs to figure out which coaches were good at Houston, but may not be the best fit in Austin.
8. Texas kicker Trent Dominigue is arguably the most disappointing player in the program this season. He probably cost the team wins against Cal, Kansas State and Kansas. It should not have taken until the final game of this season to realize he was inconsistent and needed to be replaced.
9. The good thing about Herman’s arrival might be somebody finally moving Jefferson to outside linebacker so he can finally thrive on defense.
10. Did you see how LSU beat down Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day? That is how a team who loves their coach performs. Texas players said they loved Strong, but never delivered a performance to save his job.
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