2016 Texas Longhorn Football: The End of the Beginning
- Thread starter Kremlin Watcher
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Geez, that was an ugly end to season. Do TX defensive players have an aversion to making tackles?
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After meeting with Charlie Strong on Saturday morning to go over the termination of the final two years of his contract, Texas officials were expected to turn their focus to Houston coach Tom Herman, multiple sources told HornsDigest.com
The focus of Texas' search for a replacement for Strong was expected to include a meeting this weekend with Herman and his agent, Trace Armstrong, possibly as early as Saturday afternoon or evening (after meeting with Strong in the morning), sources told HD.
Herman has been the focus of a group of big-money donors at Texas for nearly a year, dating to the nearly botched hire of offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert last December, when Fenves and Perrin had to take a private jet to Tulsa to close the deal, multiple sources told HD. But it's unclear how Texas chancellor William McRaven, president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin feel about Herman until they meet with him, sources said.
One of the big-money donors who has been pushing for Herman to replace Strong told HD Friday night they expected Texas to be able to step in front of LSU and land Herman, because they believe Texas is Herman's "dream job." Herman's Houston team lost its season finale at Memphis 48-44 Friday after the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left. Herman did not appear at the post-game press conference.
On Thursday, HornsDigest reported LSU was closing in on a deal with Herman but that a source close to Herman said Herman would probably wait to sign anything with LSU until he knew if Texas would be replacing Strong.
Herman's agent - Armstrong - had gotten far enough along in discussions with LSU that the two sides were nearly in agreement on terms in a letter of memorandum, a source close to the situation told HD.
Sources close to the situation said LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron would likely be the frontrunner for the Tigers' head-coaching job if Herman was pulled away by either Texas or Oregon. Sources said Oregon mega-booster Phil Knight met with Herman last weekend and the two really hit it off. Current Ducks' coach Mark Helfrich is 4-7 heading into Saturday's season finale against Oregon State.
Sources said UT intermediaries have also attempted to gauge the interest of Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, Baltimore Ravens' coach John Harbaugh and Clemson's Dabo Swinney.
http://www.scout.com/college/texas/story/1731983-sources-strong-to-be-let-go
The focus of Texas' search for a replacement for Strong was expected to include a meeting this weekend with Herman and his agent, Trace Armstrong, possibly as early as Saturday afternoon or evening (after meeting with Strong in the morning), sources told HD.
Herman has been the focus of a group of big-money donors at Texas for nearly a year, dating to the nearly botched hire of offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert last December, when Fenves and Perrin had to take a private jet to Tulsa to close the deal, multiple sources told HD. But it's unclear how Texas chancellor William McRaven, president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin feel about Herman until they meet with him, sources said.
One of the big-money donors who has been pushing for Herman to replace Strong told HD Friday night they expected Texas to be able to step in front of LSU and land Herman, because they believe Texas is Herman's "dream job." Herman's Houston team lost its season finale at Memphis 48-44 Friday after the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left. Herman did not appear at the post-game press conference.
On Thursday, HornsDigest reported LSU was closing in on a deal with Herman but that a source close to Herman said Herman would probably wait to sign anything with LSU until he knew if Texas would be replacing Strong.
Herman's agent - Armstrong - had gotten far enough along in discussions with LSU that the two sides were nearly in agreement on terms in a letter of memorandum, a source close to the situation told HD.
Sources close to the situation said LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron would likely be the frontrunner for the Tigers' head-coaching job if Herman was pulled away by either Texas or Oregon. Sources said Oregon mega-booster Phil Knight met with Herman last weekend and the two really hit it off. Current Ducks' coach Mark Helfrich is 4-7 heading into Saturday's season finale against Oregon State.
Sources said UT intermediaries have also attempted to gauge the interest of Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, Baltimore Ravens' coach John Harbaugh and Clemson's Dabo Swinney.
http://www.scout.com/college/texas/story/1731983-sources-strong-to-be-let-go
Orgeron thinks Lane Kiffin is going to come to Baton Rouge to be his OC. That's adorable.
Great break for Texas -- the only coaching vacancy that could rival theirs is filled (though Oregon is a potential wild card), and not with someone who would be on anyone's short list.
Great break for Texas -- the only coaching vacancy that could rival theirs is filled (though Oregon is a potential wild card), and not with someone who would be on anyone's short list.
Trading Miles for Coach O....ouch. I know this is his dream job and everyone says he is the perfect fit, but that doesn't mean he will a good HC. Does he go get Lane Tiffin for OC or some other hot shot? It will be very interesting.
So is Sark Coach O's back up plan? Not a horrible hire in my opinion. Coaching at LSU is really about keeping the talent in state and managing crazy expectations and Coach O should be able to do those two things as well as anyone.
How patient is Sark, and what has Saban promised him? I can't imagine Kiffin is going to stay at Bama more than another year or two; Sark would be his logical successor. Assuming you believe (as I do) that Sark is going to be radioactive as a potential for HC for at least another 3-4 years, then staying put might be his best path back to the top.
If Sark is not patient, or if Saban is just doing Sark a favor and doesn't want him as his OC, then yes, I would think LSU would be a good fit.
Awesome. Now they do a fake search and hire Charlie Strong version 2.0. See you in the same thread in a couple of years.
Brett McMurphy @McMurphyESPN 1m1 minute ago
Texas will hire Tom Herman & announcement expected today @CFBHeather reports
Texas will hire Tom Herman & announcement expected today @CFBHeather reports
I don't understand why thse big12 teams all hire offensive guys. the product sucks, and there is no discernable advantage in recruiting. Why not bring in a guy who knows defense (and TX recruiting)?
Not that I disagree with the sentiment, but Strong was a great local recruiter and a defensive guy.
Because the tail is wagging the dog. Houston boosters threatened to take their ball and go home unless they got their binky in the form of Tom Herman.
Herman hasn't been in one place long enough to evaluate his recruiting chops, or even his ability to develop talent. He's a great Xs and Os guy, but I'm not sure how big a part of the job that is at the collegiate level.
There's something to be said for bringing in a 41-year old head coach -- you're giving yourself a chance to land the next Bobby Bowden or Bear Bryant. But man, I'm kind of surprised they moved so quickly -- without looking closely at Les Miles, or seeing if they could pry Jimbo Fisher away (though I think the answer was no), or maybe kicking the tires on an outside-the-box pick like Jon Gruden or Chip Kelly.
There's something to be said for bringing in a 41-year old head coach -- you're giving yourself a chance to land the next Bobby Bowden or Bear Bryant. But man, I'm kind of surprised they moved so quickly -- without looking closely at Les Miles, or seeing if they could pry Jimbo Fisher away (though I think the answer was no), or maybe kicking the tires on an outside-the-box pick like Jon Gruden or Chip Kelly.
Herman showed last year at Houston that he has recruiting chops. Despite playing in a non P-5 conference, he landed 5 star recruit Ed Oliver. It is exceedingly rare for a non P-5 school to land a 5 star recruit. Herman recruited at a higher level at Houston than Briles or Sumlin did. Herman coached at various schools in Texas from 1998-2008, which is important in the insular world of Texas high school football.
Herman is not a no risk slam dunk hire. Nobody, short of Saban or Meyer would be without risk. Some of the names bandied about were uninspiring - Miles is just hiring Mack Brown over again, Gruden has never led a college program and hasn't worked in college since 1990, etc.
I think Chip Kelly would have been a home run hire for Texas, but I assume he means it when he says he isn't leaving SF after one year. Same with Harbaugh in Baltimore.
All things considered, I think Herman is a good hire for what was available at UT. While he isn't without risk, I think there is significant reason for optimism that he'll do well at Texas.
Herman is not a no risk slam dunk hire. Nobody, short of Saban or Meyer would be without risk. Some of the names bandied about were uninspiring - Miles is just hiring Mack Brown over again, Gruden has never led a college program and hasn't worked in college since 1990, etc.
I think Chip Kelly would have been a home run hire for Texas, but I assume he means it when he says he isn't leaving SF after one year. Same with Harbaugh in Baltimore.
All things considered, I think Herman is a good hire for what was available at UT. While he isn't without risk, I think there is significant reason for optimism that he'll do well at Texas.
Strong's best recruits had all come from south florida, I thought? and his success at louisville was more on the offensive side, I thought?
Most are from Texas. He had the "Florida Five" recruits but I think only one actually stuck. John Burt stands out as one major non-Texas kid brought in over the last two years.
Strong was definitely a defensive coordinator coming up at South Carolina and Florida before getting the HC gig at Louisville. He took over defensive responsibilities this year about half way through the season. I thought the D looked a lot better once he took the reigns (of course, they were god awful to start).
Good man, easy to root for, but just seemed in over his head when it came to game prep and game calling. I really wanted him to succeed. Pure class to the end. He is leaving this program better than he got it. The cake is baked, as he says.
as rguilmar points out, this is wrong on all fronts. Strong certainly had deep recruiting ties in Florida from when he was DC at Florida and his Louisville recruiting was focused on Florida. He made some waves in Texas when he was first hired by saying he'd look to pursue Florida recruits, but pretty quickly backed off that (the Texas high school coaches hated that). He signed 4 Florida kids total over his 3 classes, one of which (Cecil Cherry) left almost as soon as he got on campus.
Strong is, and has always been, a defensive coach. It is increasingly looking like he caught lightning in a bottle in Teddy Bridgewater. Apart from having a NFL first round draft pick at QB, Strong has posted very mediocre records. Taking away seasons where Bridgewater was a full time starter, Strong has put up records of 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, and 5-7.
I agree with the sentiments that he was an easy guy to root for, seemed to genuinely care about his players as human beings and not just pawns, and that he left the program in a better place than where he found it. He was given a very tall task coming into an atrophied program Mack Brown left behind, and I think he did a lot of good work from a culture perspective. I think he was sunk by not having a QB and not having a defined offensive identity (or at least a modern enough one). He was a bad fit for the Big 12.
Checking in from barbados where I just learned String was officially fired and Herman hired.
Good firing, bad hiring.
Good firing, bad hiring.
The fact that Texas was Herman's dream job wasn't exactly uncovered via Wikileaks. If you want to be considered one of the big boys, getting your football coaches poached by them isn't exactly a point in your favor (this isn't the first time it has happened). It's a sign that you're hiring quality people but the next step is keeping them, like TCU with Gary Patterson. When that happens, then cougar high can make noise about getting a seat at the big kids' table.
Tilman Fertitta, this tune's for you:
Great coach but there was no chance he was leaving the Pacific Northwest. It only took him 8 years to decide to get the hell out of Boise.