Four days after beating the Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl, 55-23, the University of Texas has decided to fire head football coach Tom Herman. The move comes on the heels of a season that saw the Horns finish 7-3. They failed yet again in winning a conference championship. It was just three weeks ago that school athletic director Chris Del Conte released a public statement declaring “Tom Herman is our coach.” The vague endorsement was later clarified by Del Conte, saying that he that meant Herman would continue coaching for Texas into the 2021 season. It took only two days into the 2021 calendar year for Del Conte to release another statement. This time it was clear as Texas fires Tom Herman.
Texas Fires Tom Herman; Set to Hire Steve Sarkisian
The Tenure
Herman’s tenure at Texas can only be described as inconsistent. In 50 games, he won 32 games. Four of those wins were bowl games, including a 28-21 victory over Georgia in the 2018 Sugar Bowl. With a winning percentage of .640 and only one season with double-digit wins, it became clear that Herman was not going to be the coach that returned Texas to elite status. The highest national ranking Texas ever received while Herman was the head coach was nine. That was in 2018 after the Sugar Bowl. Texas could not turn that top ten finish into any momentum. The Longhorns failed to win nine or more games the next two seasons.
Though Texas is moving in a different direction due to disappointing results, some positives must be highlighted. Texas has not had a losing season in four years. Their lowest win total is seven, which came in 2017 and 2020. Additionally, Texas has had a top ten recruiting class three out of the last four years. Two of those were ranked in the top five according to 247sports. It can be assumed that Texas fell victim to bad coaching rather than poor program performance. Herman managed to lose four games after leading at halftime, 13 games by one score, 14 games to Big 12 opponents, and finished 1 – 5 against Oklahoma (Texas played OU twice in 2018, losing the conference championship game)
These results are frustrating enough for Texas to pay $15 million to buy out Herman and ultimately pay up to $24 million to buy out the entire coaching staff.
Steve Sarkisian
Steve Sarkisian, the former Washington and USC head coach, and current offensive coordinator for Alabama is set to become the new head coach for the Longhorns. Terms of his new deal are not yet public. Sarkisian was named the 2020 Broyles Award winner, given to the top assistant coach in the country. Overall, Sarkisian owns a 46-35 record as a head coach and 2-2 bowl record. His best season as a head coach occurred in 2014 when he led USC to a 9-4 record and victory in that season’s Holiday Bowl.
Sarkisian also had a checkered past. He was fired from USC in 2015 after first refusing to get professional help for what was labeled as personal problems. Those issues had followed him from his time in Seattle. But after leaving USC, Sarkisian, and others in his inner circle, have proclaimed that all issues have been dealt with by professionals. There certainly have been no whispers of any trouble in his current job in Tuscaloosa.
Sarkisian has made waves by way of his stellar work on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Leading a prolific offense to this year’s National Championship is a big reason why teams are looking at him as a head coach option. He started on the staff as an analyst. Saban created the position years ago to bring in coaches with experience who work in “front office,” analyzing tape and handling operational issues. Sarkisian is one of a few who have made their way back down to the sidelines from that office position.
What’s Next For Sarkisian
Currently, Alabama has two Heisman finalists in the form of quarterback Mac Jones, and wide receiver Devonta Smith. In addition to guiding the offense, Sarkisian served as Saban’s replacement during Alabama’s game at LSU. Alabama won that game 55-17. That performance reportedly impressed a lot of schools and Texas was one of them.
Sarkisian has not served as a head coach since 2015. He served on both the Alabama and Atlanta Falcons coaching staff during his time as an assistant. Alabama is slated to play in the National Championship against Ohio State in nine days. The Crimson Tide beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Rose Bowl Game on New Year’s Day. The process for Sarkisian piecing together a staff is not yet known but current Alabama defensive coordinator Mike Stoops is expected to be in play. There likely won’t be any significant staffing moves until after Alabama plays Ohio State on January 11th.
Sarkisian isn’t a perfect hire, and Texas is certainly counting on him having a touch of Saban to him. It is clear that Texas wants to move towards having an offensive minded program, perhaps similar to Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. It doesn’t matter how Sarkisian builds the program, just as long as it results in wins from the immediate start.
