Shocking development, eh?
Heading into the 2016 season, Charlie Strong was on one of the hottest seats in the country. While it cooled somewhat in September, it warmed yet again in early October in the midst of three straight losses and has been in flames to a degree since, prompting both the athletic director and president at Texas to publicly support the beleaguered head coach.
All along, even as Houston stumbled a bit, the rumor mill had Tom Herman set to take the reins in Austin if/when the administration -- or boosters -- pulled the trigger on the Strong era and put it out of its misery. Following Houston’s crushing upset of Louisville Thursday night? The Herman-to-UT chatter has increased significantly, at least according to one report that had the Herman admiration waning.
From ESPN.com‘s Brett McMurphy:Texas’ administration is receiving “extreme pressure” from prominent boosters to dismiss Charlie Strong and hire Houston coach Tom Herman, sources told ESPN.
Earlier this week, Strong’s job was considered safe if the Longhorns (5-5) won out against Kansas and TCU. However, that all changed when Houston upset No. 5 Louisville Thursday, sources said.
That was because in October the lure of Herman, always considered Texas’ No. 1 target, had dulled with losses to Navy and SMU and near losses to Tulsa and UCF. The SMU loss was extremely troubling to UT’s boosters because it was to a perceived “lesser school” in the state, sources said.
That all changed with Herman improving to 22-3 at Houston after Thursday’s domination of Louisville.
Setting aside the whims of UT boosters and/or administrators that can apparently shift because of the results of one loss and then one win three weeks later, there appears to be another reason why the state’s flagship football program is suddenly back in the Herman sweepstakes: Texas A&M. The speculation is, A&M could very well part ways with Kevin Sumlin and dip back into the Cougar coaching pool to make a run at Herman, and their once bitter rivals do not want to sit idly by and allow that happen.
Regardless of what ultimately happens, whatever team pursues Herman better be prepared to open their wallets wide as a source relayed to McMurphy that “the bidding war for Herman is expected to start ‘at a minimum of $5.5 million.’” If Texas were to can Strong after the season, the coach would be owed $10 million.
