Herman’s charitable game plan
Longhorns coach has been active with several Austin nonprofits as a donor and volunteer
AUSTIN — Thomas Joseph Herman Jr. died alone in a homeless shelter in Cincinnati. A worker made the discovery, walked into the $10-a-day room and found the 52-year-old’s lifeless body on the floor.
His son, Thomas Joseph Herman III, and wife, Michelle, were the ones who located the shelter and paid the small bill for modest meals, a humble cot and relative safety from the outside world.
Still, too many years of life as a rolling stone and bouts with alcoholism and drug abuse eventually claimed the life of Herman’s estranged father. That firsthand experience with poverty, disease and the tragedy it can beget played a pivotal role in shaping the Texas football coach.
He kisses his players. Proudly and routinely proclaims his love for them. Hopes to be, if needed, a trusted and worthy male figure in their lives.
Herman’s upbringing and understanding of life along the fringes of society has also informed his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought tragic loss, unheard of job losses and a pervasive feeling of fear and insecurity. It’s one reason Tom and Michelle have recently dedicated parts of their time to volunteering at local nonprofit organizations like the Central Texas Food Bank, Boys & Girls clubs of the Austin area and Front Steps, which provides aid to the local homeless population.
“My dad was homeless the last few years of his life and actually passed away in a homeless shelter,” Herman said. “So to give and help those people, maybe we save someone else’s dad where my dad couldn’t be saved.”
Michelle likes to joke that her husband “lives in a bubble.”
To be fair, it’s a dig most football coaches tend to embrace. That scene of a man isolated in a room, thick bags under the eyes and stubble spreading across a drooping face, looping game film until sunrise is one they happily allow to proliferate.
But this global crisis and the lockdown it brought about has forced Herman to peek outside the football bubble. He’s paying more attention now. To the news, yes, but also to the community and its people, particularly those overlooked and shunned.
According to Ending Community Homelessness Colation (ECHO), a nonprofit organization that “plans and implements community-wide strategies to end homelessness in Austin and Travis County,” there was an average of 2,255 people experiencing homelessness per day throughout the country in 2019.
“I think you realize just how in need certain demographics and populations are,” Herman said. “Michelle and I were very specific in targeting the places that we were going to donate to, one, because of my history with some of those issues, and hers as well. And two, we really wanted to get something out there that’s on the front lines, that’s not a long-term project. The food bank, that’s 40,000 meals — boom — right there. We really targeted the vulnerable population in this with the Meals on Wheels, delivering food to the elderly and homebound, and obviously the homeless shelter.
“Stuff like that, it just makes you want to give so much more when you see your community and the people in it suffering.”
This pervasiveness and morbidity of this crisis has forced Herman to dedicate more time to considering mortality and place in the world. As a football coach earning in excess of $5 million a year, the son of a single mother understands better now what it can mean when someone of his stature and prominence throws weight behind specific causes.
When people hit Twitter and see photos Herman and
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger handing out meals and supplies to Boys & Girls Clubs members, it can start a chain reaction. Even Longhorns fans scattered across the globe might feel compelled to help if they’re able.
“As humans, I think sometimes we feel like we’re invincible,” Herman said. “I think there are times in our society and in America that we feel like we might be the only country out there. And this, this has certainly made us realize that there’s billions of people out there in different countries and that are that are dealing with things just like we are.
“I think it really, you know, makes you realize how small we really are compared to the world’s population. It’s not a good thing, but the perspective I think is a good thing.”
As this crisis wears on with no solid end date in sight, Herman plans to continue donating and popping up to help when not conducing virtual meetings and conferences with his Longhorns. He hopes others do the same.
“I want to implore Longhorn Nation, give what you can,” Herman said. “I know time is hard right now because we’re supposed to stay in our homes but resources, your energy, a retweet, even a like could spark somebody else to give. There’s people out there that need us and we want to do our part as a community here to make sure that they’re getting the help that they need.”