Tom Herman is the new head coach at FAU. The National search for FAU didn’t take too long after Willie Taggart’s end of season firing. As per an ESPN article, FAU Athletic Director Brian White said that Herman was the top candidate after several discussions. Herman comes off of a judgemental firing at the University of Texas, where fans didn’t like the direction of the team and the athletic director “double clutched” keeping him long term. He is very early in his coaching career and is getting this second chance at FAU. A look at his coaching history shows great ambition cloud by questionable judgement.
Herman’s early coaching success
From 2005 to 2015, Herman spent time as an offensive coordinator at different schools (Rice, Sam Houston State, Iowa State, Ohio State.) He never spent more than two years at any school, moving up the coaching ladder. He was a Broyles Award winner at Ohio State where he ran the offense for Urban Meyer during their 2014 National Championship run. He got his first head coaching job at the University of Houston. The school won the AAC title in 2015 and beat Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Herman had an unbeaten record against ranked teams at Houston. Then Texas came calling and he signed with the Longhorns.
Herman’s difficult time at Texas
Herman “had it made” when he was hired by Texas in 2017. He had early success in his first year, winning the Sugar Bowl. Over the next seasons, he couldn’t eclipse his first season win total, couldn’t win the Big 12 Title and had a losing record against Oklahoma. His teams couldn’t beat ranked teams either and they weren’t prepared to play against unranked teams. His Texas career and sudden firing was highlighted by the youtube channel, “Harris highlights.” Listen to the rest of the video here. As per an article in the Austin-American statesman, Athletic director Chris Del Conte issued a statement saying Herman was returning, but then said, “From the time I made that statement, I had not completed my evaluation, when I completed that evaluation, it became apparent a change needed to be made.”
Is Herman to FAU a good fit?
The obvious take here is that Herman’s offensive resume and productivity will do well at FAU. He will inherit a group of freshman and sophomores that have gone through tough losses and good wins. Jamal Edrine and LaJohntay Wester plus star running back Larry McCammon will no doubt return to the team next season. FAU is going to the American Athletic Conference in 2023 so Herman will return to a familiar environment. He has won here before and will probably win big again. But, what will happen after his second season? Will he leave and go to a head coaching job at a Power 5 school? Texas has moved on from Herman and appears to be “back.” Read John Borkowski’s article here. Herman looks like he has some maturity issues to develop as it is out of balance with his coaching expertise.