Horns all in with Herman
Players loyal to Strong finally warming up to his replacement
AUSTIN — About three dozen Longhorns stood in solemn silence, watching Charlie Strong wade through his final news conference as their coach.
Nothing was official yet — one game remained against TCU — but they all understood. On a bleak Monday in November, two days after a loss to Kansas, was Strong’s strange farewell.
“They know how I care about them,” Strong said on Nov. 21, 2016. “I will always be there for them. I know that they feel the same about me.”
He thanked the assembled media, grabbed his notes, and drifted away from the podium, toward his players. Despite the circumstances, Strong smiled. The players all applauded.
Many of Strong’s players were loyal to him during his three-year run at Texas. But the 16-21 record were all what mattered to the program’s decision makers and donors.
So in came Tom Herman, the former Mack Brown graduate assistant who had compiled a 21-4 record in two seasons at Houston. He was named the nation’s top assistant coach in 2014, and had a national title ring from his time as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator (2012-14).
Despite his pedigree, Herman was still viewed as an interloper. His initial message didn’t resonate with some who believed Strong was treated unjustly. The new guy had to earn their trust.
“It was very honest and direct and very stern,” Herman said in December 2016 of his first team meeting. “We talked about as much as I like coach Strong and as much as the players love coach Strong — they should, he’s an unbelievable man and a great football coach — things need to change. If you keep ending up with the same result, we’ve got to change some things.”
The players were wary — the environment they had grown comfortable in was upended.
Tight end Andrew Beck and defensive lineman Breckyn Hager were among those who clashed with Herman. Others, such as offensive lineman Jean Delance, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott and linebacker Erik Fowler, transferred before playing a game under the new regime.
It wasn’t all open rebellion. Some Longhorns were more amenable.
Senior defensive end Charles Omenihu loved playing for Strong. But he didn’t love losing.
“Whatever we were doing before wasn’t really working,” Omenihu said Tuesday. “So if something new comes in, you might as well come in with an open mind and not be stubborn and childish. You might as well open up to a new kind of thinking and way of doing things and see how it goes.
“Right now, it’s going well.”
Not everyone saw it the way Omenihu did. For some, that revelation took months.
Hager and Herman didn’t speak much last season. It was an icy relationship in need of a thaw.
The cold war came to an end in the middle of a game against Oklahoma State. While running off the field after a sack, something in Hager snapped and forced him to think differently.
“I saw (Herman) and I learned about him,” Hager said, “and I was like, ‘I am genuinely sorry and I do love you.’ And that was the first time I meant it.”
Beck, a team captain this season for No. 14 Texas (9-3, 7-2 Big 12), also bought in.
The fifth-year senior saw the strides the program made last year, culminating in a Texas Bowl win over Missouri, and understood how much more effective the coaching staff’s message would be if everyone embraced it.
“What he’s done has worked,” Beck said of Herman. “It took us longer than we should have to under- stand and respect that. We spent a lot of time evaluating when we shouldn’t have, but it got us to where we are now. We have a lot of guys, most of that team is very bought-in to what we’re doing.”
After slipping in its season opener against Maryland, Texas has looked the part of a cohesive unit. The buy-in has grown with each win, four over ranked opponents, including a 48-45 victory over then-No. 6 Oklahoma.
Texas gets a rematch with the Sooners on Saturday at AT&T Stadium. They won’t be playing for the Golden Hat in round two. This time, a Big 12 championship is on the line.
Given all that Texas has accomplished and may yet accomplish this year, those who remained in Austin are glad they did.
“My pride wouldn’t let me leave the guys that I came here with,” fifth-year senior nose tackle Chris Nelson said. “I look at those guys’ faces like, I couldn’t do that. The day I signed here I said I wanted to change this place around, so that’s what made me stick here.”