We Found Tom Herman. Now If He'll Find Himself... - On3

Tom Herman’s tenure as head coach of the Texas Longhorns ended on January 2, 2021. He found a new role shortly after with the Chicago Bears as an offensive analyst and special projects coach, all while Texas paid 1-0 Culture LLC (yes, a real corporate entity) the remaining balance of his contract. When the Bears let go of Matt Nagy after last season, Herman was not retained.

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Then, he disappeared. After achieving rising-star status at Houston and leading Texas to a 10-win season in 2018, it was peculiar that someone like Herman would sink into the core of the coaching carousel and not find a suitable place where he could land upon exiting the spinning wheel. Sure, his reputation among Texas circles was not anything near sterling after back-to-back short-of-expectation seasons in 2019 and 2020. That bristled the Texas fan base, as did his know-it-all persona, his on-field strategic failings, and other faults assigned to him where details remain murky. But still, there are defensive coordinators in places like College Station and offensive coordinators in Norman with far more checkered pasts than Herman. Was that all enough to prevent him from finding another gig in any capacity?

Apparently so in the eyes of the decision makers in his industry.

Which leads us to today. Previously mentioned but officially announced on Tuesday, Herman joined CBS Sports Network to serve as an analyst.

CBS Sports Unveils 2022 College Football Announcer Lineup For @CBSSportsNet Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor and Sherree Burruss to Serve as Lead Announce TeamTom Herman, Robert Turbin, Meghan McPeak and Christian Fauria to Join Game CoverageFull Release: https://t.co/sNJl8Vi7hJ pic.twitter.com/0tr8yfyRZ4

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) August 23, 2022

If you check the quote tweets (comment section), there will be plenty of congratulations for those who are achieving their dreams of moving up in the television ranks and serving as either in-game analysts or studio hosts for CBS Sports Network. There are also plenty of digs regarding binders, turtling, winning being hard, MENSA… You name it, it’s there.

Oh yeah… some picture they choose. That said, Herman is an accomplished (don’t laugh, the term fits) coach with multiple 10-win seasons, two New Years Six bowl wins, and a .711 career winning percentage without an under-.500 year as a head coach. Despite all that, the decision makers at Texas decided to make a switch. That was apparent in October of 2020 when Texas was brazen in its pursuit of two-time Fox Sports analyst Urban Meyer. The former Ohio State head coach didn’t come to terms with Texas, did so with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then failed miserably.

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Even with a mid-December 2020 vote of… something… from Chris Del Conte and the UT administration, Herman was let go on January 2, 2021 and quickly replaced by Sarkisian. Things always come full circle; technically, Herman was named head coach hours after Charlie Strong was let go in 2016.

And in a strange coincidence, both Herman and Meyer now look toward the television ranks to help get their careers on stronger footing. Meyer’s on-field accomplishments are tarnished by how his Buckeye tenure ended and by the flop in Jacksonville, but to what extent remains to be seen. Herman is at a different stage, and could join several other coaches who have used a TV perch in order to gain new knowledge, assess their strengths and weaknesses, monitor the current game, and potentially rejoin the coaching ranks. It’s not an easy task, but Herman can assuredly look at his mentor Mack Brown as what the best-case scenario looks like. It’s doubtful, however, Houston would welcome him back a la Brown at North Carolina.

If coaching doesn’t work out, TV money is still good money. He gets to stay within the game, doesn’t have to recruit, and doesn’t have to deal with the week-to-week stresses of big time college football. That said, there’s an allure for coaches and most want to get back on the horse and prove they can ride again.

We’ll see what path Herman takes after this stop in front of the camera. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn. The question becomes, will he then apply it?

And if you don’t like that scenario, well…