Tom Herman, Texas’ football coach, is fired after four seasons.
Tom Herman, the football coach for Texas, was abruptly fired on Saturday morning, according to state officials.
It happened nearly two weeks after Chris Del Conte, the athletic director at UT, made the bland announcement that “Tom Herman is our coach.”
Del Conte “has evaluated the UT program’s strengths and weaknesses and where the program is relative to our goals,” according to the statement released on Saturday. Even though under Tom Herman’s direction we have made some progress over the last few years, Chris has advised Jay Hartzell, the president of the university, that UT hire a new coach in order to get us back on track to reaching our lofty objectives.”
The American-Statesman was informed by an individual with knowledge of the matter that Steve Sarkisian, the offensive coordinator for Alabama, was the front-runner to take over as head coach. The individual asked to remain anonymous since they were not permitted to speak about the matter in public. First, Horns247 revealed that Sarkisian was the target of the school.
According to UT’s statement, Hartzell and Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, approved the change and agreed with the decision. The statement said, “We are grateful to Coach Herman for his commitment to our student-athletes, our program, and our university.”
Herman was under contract for $15 million in guaranteed money, with three years left on his deal. About $10 million would be owed to his assistants.
According to data gathered by USA TODAY Sports, public Football Bowl Subdivision schools have committed to paying head coaches, assistant coaches, and strength coaches a total of more than $107.5 million in buyout-related payments this season. This includes slightly more than $63.8 million for eight schools’ head coaches. Derek Mason, the coach at private school Vanderbilt, was also fired.
For some Texas fans, it was not possible to keep Herman. In four seasons, he was 32-18 and failed to win a Big 12 title. There was just one Longhorns appearance in the league championship game. That occurred in 2018, as UT finished with a 10-4 record and defeated No. 6 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
But under Herman, that season turned into the exception rather than the rule. He was 1-4 against rival Oklahoma and 9-10 against teams ranked in the top 25. That falls far short of the expectations UT officials had when they hired Herman in November 2016 after he was hired away from Houston.
Herman also recorded a 4-0 bowl record and four consecutive winning seasons. The Longhorns had three straight losing seasons prior to his arrival.
Del Conte’s belief that success comes from stability makes this move a significant departure from his previous way of thinking. Before the Horns began a decade of success, Mack Brown won at least nine games in his first three seasons at UT from 1998 to 2000. Charlie Strong had a 16–21 record in three years, but he never really took off.
In 2017, Herman turned things around with a 7–6 record. Few people objected when Del Conte offered Herman a two-year contract extension following the 2018 campaign. Though the 2019 season was disappointing, it came to an end in the Alamo Bowl with a crushing victory over No. 11 Utah.
Herman annoyed supporters along the way with his actions on the field. In the 2017 Texas Bowl, he made fun of the Missouri quarterback, and in 2018, he ran onto the field as if he was prepared to take on Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. Herman was seen on TV last season head-butting defensive end Malcolm Roach prior to the Baylor game.
The most memorable incident occurred on national signing day when Herman was seen giving the coaching staff’s meeting room a middle finger to a Longhorn Network camera that was mounted inside. Herman later claimed that he was only narrating a tale about an Oklahoma fan, but not many people accepted that claim.
Despite the pandemic forcing Texas to postpone spring workouts in 2020, expectations remained high. One of the best quarterbacks in Texas history, statistically speaking, was a senior on this year’s squad. There are three consecutive top-10 recruiting classes in the locker room. Still, the Horns finished 7-3 overall. Texas’ record against Oklahoma, Iowa State, and TCU over the past two seasons is now 0-6.
Following UT’s defeat by Iowa State on Monday, which eliminated the team from title contention, Herman remarked, “I think any answer I give you right now is going to come across as an excuse.” “In the offseason, we’ll assess the things we did poorly and return to work to correct those things.”
It belongs to someone else right now.
