Herman leaves UH for ‘dream’ job at Texas
After going 22-4 during ‘H-Town Takeover,’ coach can’t resist lure of Power 5 behemoth
A teary-eyed Tom Herman met with his players at the University of Houston on Saturday afternoon and confirmed what others had been speculating for days — that he was leaving for the head coaching job at the Uni- versity of Texas.
Herman, 41, replaces Charlie Strong, who was officially fired earlier in the day after three seasons as the Longhorns’ head coach.
Herman declined comment as he walked out of the Athletics-Alumni Center. In a statement released by Texas, he said the opportunity to rejoin the Longhorns “is a dream come true.”
Herman’s departure comes less than two years after Houston hired him from Ohio State, where he was the offensive coordinator of a national champion and one of the nation’s hot young coaches. In Houston, he led a renaissance of the Cougars’ football program, and his quick success made him a candidate for jobs at schools in the Power Five conferences, the elite in college football.
In Herman’s two seasons, the Cougars were 22-4 and climbed back to national relevance with top-10 rankings, an American Athletic Conference championship, and a major bowl win last December. As schools like South Carolina, Maryland, Missouri and Georgia came after him, UH doubled his initial base salary from $1.35 million to $3 million, the richest deal for any coach in school history.
It was different when the UT job opened. Texas, which decided to fire Strong after last week’s loss to lowly Kansas, has long been considered Herman’s dream job. He previously served the Longhorns as a graduate assistant for two years (1999-2000).
As recently as last week, Herman downplayed interest in other jobs, including reports Thursday that he was close to a deal with LSU. Late Friday night and into Saturday morning, he met with a Texas delegation that included president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin following the Cougars’ return from Memphis, where UHlost 48-44 to complete a 9-3 regular season.
UH officials had slim hopes that an offer on the table — a contract extension with a “seven-figure increase in total compensation,” according to sources — would be enough to entice Herman to stay on Cullen Boulevard.
“It wasn’t a surprise, because we felt like we knew it was coming if Tom was offered a job at LSU or Texas,” said Tilman Fertitta, billionaire chairman of the UH board of regents. “We felt like he would take it.”
Contract terms were not immediately available, but Herman is expected to start at Texas with a base salary of more than $5 million, putting him among college football’s seven highest-paid coaches.
“It’s not an economic issue,” Fertitta said. “Tom felt like he had a better chance to compete for a national championship at the University of Texas.
“Let’s be honest. Texas is the only school in America that truly has its own network, the Longhorn Network with ESPN. Texas is Texas. As great as the University of Houston is, it’s not the same opportunity. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. You have to grab things when you want them.”
UH has again become a steppingstone, with a third coach in the last nine years leaving for a higherprofilee job in the state. Art Briles left for Baylor in 2007, and Kevin Sumlin departed for Texas A&M in 2011.
UH hoped this time would be different and that Herman would put down roots and transform the football program into a powerhouse. Herman’s “H-Town Takeover” took shape, keeping some of the area’s top recruits in town, and Houston became one of the most talked about schools from outside the five power conferences. Rapid resurgence
“University of Houston football is built on decades of rich, winning tradition, and there is no question that Tom Herman accelerated our resurgence,” UH president Renu Khator said. “Cougar Nation has experienced a reawakening, and I firmly believe this is just the beginning.”
Herman made an impression in his first head coaching job, from spending a night ripping out the rubber tiles in UH’s athletic complex to a $1 million renovation of the Cougars’ locker room to a preseason camp he called “the hardest training camp in the history of college football.” His players bought into a culture based on hard work, but Herman also showed a softer side, embracing and kissing each player on the cheek before every game.
UH players were not made available for comment Saturday.
“In his short time in Houston, Tom Herman elevated the Houston football program to new heights, and we are grateful for his contributions to our program,” said Hunter Yurachek, UH’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics.
Herman took the challenge of playing in a smaller conference personally and relished in the Cougars’ success, calling UH “arguably the most relevant program” from outside the major conferences the past two seasons with big wins over top-10 programs Florida State, Oklahoma and Louisville. A Peach Bowl victory over the Seminoles completed a 13-1 season in 2015.
Fundraising increased, and a fan base was re-energized under the popular Herman, even though at times he had to plead for attendance. He was also instrumental in the approval of a $20 million indoor practice facility that broke ground Nov. 18 and will be ready for the start of the 2017 season.
One of the biggest disappointments came in midOctober when the Big 12 Conference (of which Texas is a member) opted not to expand. Houston had been one of several schools under consideration to join the league. It was a deflating decision for Houston and cost it potentially tens of millions more dollars in future athletic revenue and exposure.
“I think that probably put things in motion,” Fertitta said. “I think the Big 12 decision was a huge disappointment to Tom, as it was to the rest of us.” UH begins search
The university will immediately begin the search for the 14th football coach in school history. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who has expressed interest in the job, will serve as interim coach for the Cougars’ bowl, which will be announced Dec. 4.
Fertitta said the Houston job is “a hot ticket” that is expected to draw considerable interest.
Along with Orlando, some potential candidates include West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, current UH offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery, Washington State coach Mike Leach, California coach Sonny Dykes, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, Colorado defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, and even Briles, the former UH coach who was dismissed by Baylor in May in the wake of that school’s sexual assault scandal.
“University of Houston football is positioned right now to compete for championships,” Fertitta said. “We’re committed to finding the right coach who recognizes this opportunity and is capable of leading our athletes.”