Keeping Herman? Try cash, crowds, facilities
Saturday is Halloween, which seems fitting since the blogosphere wants Tom Herman to try on every available school’s costume for size. One day it’s Maryland. The next week it’s SC — both of them, South Carolina and Southern Cal. This week it’s Miami. Seven games into Herman’s first head coaching job at the University of Houston, speculation is running rampant about his future, with headlines resembling a trip to the grocery store checkout line.
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A source close to the UH football program said this week that “no school has been in contact” regarding Herman.
That, of course, won’t stop Herman’s name from popping up on the list of candidates for most available jobs. We’re barely past midseason, and there are eight head coaching openings in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Expect plenty more in what could be a dizzying ride on the coaching carousel this offseason.
At UH, the threat of losing Herman after one season is the price of success. The Cougars are 7-0 and No. 18 in the Associated Press poll heading into Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. UH
is considered one of the front-runners, along with Memphis and Toledo, for the Group of Five’s spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.
Herman’s rising stock is as much a product of what he’s done elsewhere as his quick turnaround at UH. He already was a rising star after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for national champion Ohio State and winning the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.
A home-run hire for UH last December, Herman recorded a signature victory in Week 2 against Louisville. He and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite are to credit for helping transform Greg Ward Jr. into a quarterback who has been mentioned as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate. It doesn’t hurt that the Cougars are one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, averaging 47.6 points and 561.1 yards per game. Not taking the bait
To his credit, Herman has attempted to distance himself from the talk. He says all the right things, calling the endless speculation a product of “anybody with a Twitter account or smartphone typing whatever they want” and that his focus is “playing for championships in November and December.”
“We’re going to make sure it’s not a distraction, because it shouldn’t be,” Herman said earlier this month.
Still, the questions follow.
After last week’s 59-10 win over Central Florida, Herman was asked about his being mentioned for high-profile openings.
“I’m not going to comment on any other jobs,” he said. “My wife, Michelle, and our family love the University of Houston, and really, I will tell you what I tell our guys: It’s a testament to what we’re doing here.”
At the time of Herman’s hiring, UH gave the first-time head coach a five-year contract worth at least $6.75 million. His $1.35 million annual salary is the highest for a football coach in school history.
If the Cougars continue winning, Herman could be due as much as $350,000 in performance incentives after this season, according to details of his contract reviewed by the Houston Chronicle.
Hunter Yurachek, UH’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, is expected to sit down with Herman and his representative at the end of the season.
What’s to stop a Power 5 school with deep pockets from coming in and wooing Herman away? The $2.25 million buyout if Herman leaves before 2018 is akin to loose change in a living room sofa for some schools.
If UH is truly serious about winning and serious about keeping Herman, one way to show its commitment is to build the proposed $20 million indoor practice facility Herman mentions every chance he gets. Another is to put more resources behind its marketing department. No head coach at a university that aspires to be in a Power 5 conference — whether the Big 12, Big Ten or Pac-12 — should have to beg and plead for fans to fill a 40,000-seat stadium regardless of kickoff time, weather or conflict with trick-ortreating. UH is averaging 30,313 for three home games with four more remaining, including attractive matchups against Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Memphis and Navy. Boss is worried
But will it be enough? Even UH president Renu Khator seems to acknowledge a chance Herman could be gone sooner than anybody expects.
“Alumni and fans — you want to keep Coach Herman? Then do your part … show up for games and support the program,” Khator posted on her personal Twitter account Oct. 22.
For now, the questions will continue to come up. Just like one did Monday on the American Athletic Conference coaches conference call.
“I’m not even gonna comment on another job,” Herman said when asked about the Miami opening. “That’s not fair to our program and where we’re headed.”
Herman and the Cougars hope that’s a trip to the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl.
After that, it’s anybody’s guess.