MORE GIVE THAN TAKE
Uneven playing field is limiting UH’s ability to hold onto top football coaches
In the sports bible of the religion that is college football — in the book of Bad Acts, I believe — there is a verse that reads: “It is more blessed to receive than to give.”
That applies to, among other things, interceptions, fumbles and head coaches.
Poor UH finds itself on the not-so-blessed end of the give-and-take of college football coaches. Last week, UH involuntarily gave Tom Herman to Texas.
If the university has a coach worth having, he leaves for bigger and better. If the coach isn’t particularly good (see: Dimel, Dana), UH can’t give him away.
The lone exception to the rule was Bill Yeoman, the legend, who coached at UH for 24 years and in his tenure posted almost as many wins (160) as the eight coaches who have followed him (162). In 81 fewer games. He was a true Cougar. Last season, UH did a remarkable job of holding onto its head coach, despite Herman’s “dream” to be at a school that he believes offers more.
As kids say these days, he was thirsty, admitting to local ESPN Radio affiliate KFNC FM (97.5) that in the middle of his first year at UH he had “very intense” conversations about taking a job with another school, presumed to be South Carolina.
So, UH doubled his salary to ward off the poachers. It worked last year.
This issue at UH began with Bill Meek, who after an unbeaten, first-place season in which he was named the 1956 Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year, left UH for SMU, which played big-time football in the Southwest Conference.
His replacement, Hal Lahar, moved from Colgate to UH, then five years later, returned to Colgate, which, according to the school made him the first to leave a Division I football program for another head coaching job, then
return. That opened the door for Yeoman. Jack Pardee, who took over after Yeoman, used a three-year stint at UH to return to the NFL, which is where he belonged all along.
After some lean years, Art Briles started a rejuvenation, and hung around five years before leaving for Baylor. Kevin Sumlin lasted four seasons before finding the grass greener where Reveille is buried. Hurt feelings after exit
Herman’s two year stint was entertaining, but all-too brief. While he was here long enough to change to a local address on his driver’s license, he wasn’t here long enough to call himself a Houstonian.
His leaving has hurt feelings. So much so that some are parsing his phrases looking for lies.
Herman isn’t a liar, just a college football coach. A half-truth teller.
He never hid his thoughts that many schools have more with which to work than UH.
After the Cougars beat OU, I expected him to say people shouldn’t be surprised because UH has what OU has, its players are just as good. That’s what some coaches do.
Not Herman. He answered my question with the hard truth.
“This is still a team full of a bunch of two-and-three-star recruits that don’t have the luxuries that an Oklahoma or a Florida State has,” he said. “So anytime your resources don’t match your opponents’ resources, (beating them) is a bit surprising.
“These things aren’t supposed to happen.”
Doing Yeoman’s work
I doubt Yeoman said that beating Texas wasn’t supposed to happen, after the Cougars stomped the Longhorns 30-0 in 1976, UH’s first season in the Southwest Conference, to end Texas’ 42-game home winning streak.
And I could only imagine what Yeoman would have said had the dirty, rotten, bigmoney scoundrels who continually denied UH’s SWC application — in part because Yeoman had the gall to believe black players had the right to play college football — had asked him if he were interested in coaching at their fine institution in Austin. “You don’t deserve me.” I can guess what Yeoman would have said had the good ol’ boys at Texas A&M come knocking on his door, or if the Baptists took time out from a prayer meeting to invite him to College Station and Waco, respectively. “Sorry, fellas, I have a better job in Houston.” My guess was right. That’s exactly what Yeoman would have said.
“My family was very content here,” Yeoman said. “My wife had a whole lot of friends here, my kids had great lives here. Going somewhere else wasn’t on the table for the Yeomans.”
Yeoman said he had several opportunities to go elsewhere, but he was here to stay.
“What do you say to those kids who came here to play for you?” Yeoman said. “I guess I was just raised different.”
Yes, times have indeed changed.
Unlevel playing field
In 2016, the challenges of being in a nonPower 5 conference are tough to overcome. There is a little margin for error.
You can’t afford to lose to any Tom, Dick or SMU.
No matter how much money Tilman Fertitta tosses into the collection plate, UH will not be able to spend on football what the Power 5 schools spend on football, until UH is in a Power 5 conference.
UH athletics revenue is about $140 million behind UT’s. With those numbers, it can’t win a bidding war with UT for a head football coach.
The challenge for UH is to land that special someone who will indeed put UH atop his priority list.
Someone who can coach his you-know-what off, while spending every waking minute on how to make UH better, not on how to make himself look good enough to move up in the world.
A coach whose priority is not winning championships, but winning championships at UH.
One who says the right things because he means them, not because he learned them at a coaches convention. I’m not sure such a coach exists. There aren’t a lot of Bill Yeomans in the world.