HERMAN WILL RETURN NEXT SEASON SMITH: FLIRTATION WITH MEYER LAUGH ABLE.
Horns’ laughable pursuit of Meyer to replace Herman sums up penchant for too much talk
Texas blatantly pursuing a “retired” Urban Meyer, while Tom Herman was trying to win football games in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, was laughable.
But typical and predictable. Texas being forced to announce that Herman is still the Longhorns’ coach — after Meyer quietly said no and with Herman already under contract through the 2023 season — is just as humorous.
The official statement arrived via email at 1:49 p.m. Saturday. And it took two-plus sentences and more than 20 meandering words for almighty Texas to finally back Herman in public as Christmas Day draws near.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about the future of our football coach,” said Longhorns athletic director Chris Del Conte, in white words on a burnt orange background. “My policy is to wait until the end of the season before evaluating and commenting on our program and coaches. With the close of the regular season, I want to reiterate that Tom Herman is our coach.”
What a vote of confidence. Elon Musk and Joe Rogan believe in Texas more than Texas does with Herman as its contemporary football figurehead.
If the Longhorns really wanted to make a December splash, they would have stolen North Carolina’s coach.
Mack Brown (remember him?) had No. 17 North Carolina up 34-10 against D’Eriq King (remember him?) and No. 10 Miami on Saturday. On the road. At halftime. With the big win, the rebranded Tar Heels moved closer toward becoming a football school and improved to 8-3 in 2020, while Brown continued to lead one of college football’s best comeback stories.
The whole thing is a mess. Texas openly flirting with Meyer, after the three-time national champion willingly left Florida and Ohio State behind.
The Longhorns’ program since 2009.
The fact that Texas so clearly wanted something better than Herman in 2020, despite three consecutive bowl victories and a brilliant upset of Georgia in the 2018 Sugar Bowl.
It’s always “what have you done for me lately?”
It’s never enough, even with the Brown era giving way to the woeful Charlie Strong years, then Texas getting exactly what it wanted in Herman and the creator of the H-Town Takeover posting a 31-18 record in four seasons with another bowl game waiting.
Ex-Aggie Kevin Sumlin was fired on Saturday, reminding us how quickly the college story can change. You’re coaching up Johnny Manziel, winning the Cotton Bowl and reaching No. 5 in America. Then you’re being axed by Arizona after being
destroyed 70-7 by Herm Edwards and Arizona State.
Houston is still adjusting to a post-Herman world. After burning through Major Applewhite, the Cougars are underperforming with Dana Holgorsen and lost again Saturday to Memphis in a late heart-breaker.
Texas believes it should be so much better. But the Longhorns simply can’t get out of their own way. Meanwhile, Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M sit pretty at No. 5 in the country and keep forcing their way into the hourly College Football Playoff debate.
The reconstructed Aggies are nationally relevant.
The Longhorns make big news when they oddly get turned down by Meyer and eventually support Herman.
“When I look at our football program right now, I see tremendous
young men and promising talent,” Del Conte said in the second part of his statement. “Our student-athletes are developing, and they play their hearts out. This has been an unprecedented year for all of us, and we’re all disappointed that we didn’t meet our expectations. Like the many fans that follow and support our program, I can’t help but think what could have been in 2020. There’s still more work to be done, but I’m excited to watch our players and program move forward.”
Herman received a half-sentence worth of support.
And stating that “I want to reiterate that Tom Herman is our coach” doesn’t exactly scream CFP, future national champions, 2021 or Herman still being the man in 2023.
It’s just an educated guess.
But doesn’t it make it harder to rejoin the sport’s elite 1 percenters when you openly beg for a “retired” coach to take over your unpredictable program, just four years after swearing that Herman was Austin’s next big thing?
Should Texas have been better this season?
Of course.
That simple logic also applies to last season, when the Longhorns went a highly disappointing 8-5 and celebrated it all by winning the almighty Alamo Bowl.
Did Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers enter Saturday with a 3-5 record, the season after one of the greatest campaigns in the history of the college game?
Yes.
Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor are also down during this unprecedented season, while No. 7 Iowa State — a recent recurring nightmare for Herman — has suddenly become the class of the almost annually disappointing Big 12.
Just imagine what would happen if the Longhorns lived the SEC life. Going 6-3 and making a bowl game might feel like a holiday blessing.
Big ol’ Texas should be better than this. But we’ve been saying that longer than we’ve been tweeting that Texas is back — then taking it back as soon as the wobbly Longhorns lose to TCU, Maryland, Oklahoma State, etc.
A declining Brown was the problem. Then Strong obviously was the problem. Now, Herman is the only thing holding the Longhorns back from being Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame or Ohio State.
Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney could probably fix this. But they’re not going anywhere. And why would they want to deal with the Longhorns’ problems?
In many ways, Herman is still the right coach for Texas in
2020.
Too much money. Too much talk. Underperforming.