We’re going to post some things that underline why we had concerns about Tom Herman over the years. It may add some clarity to why others had issues with him, especially some former players.
We’re not going to share everything we know or attempt to confirm a salacious internet rumor you might have heard. We don’t care about that stuff beyond how it affected his performance or ability to win over the team.
*When Texas went to do its homework on Herman in 2016 it was ill-equipped for a proper undertaking. The people tasked with making the decision at the time weren’t aided by people close to Herman speaking openly and honestly about him. That is how he liked it and a reason why he kept a tight circle and embraced “alignment.” Those coaches already knew his pros, but more importantly, his cons, and they were loyal.
*Herman's first year was the first red flag. Maybe even his first meeting was his first red flag. (Maybe even before that meeting when he allegedly drove his U of H loaner car to Austin and told them to come pick it up). When he stormed in and scolded a room full of players he would need to win, things didn’t get off on the right foot. He demanded respect rather than earning it. He'd preach being focused and locked in, but turn around and do something stupid. We’re not sure he ever really had the locker room, even after the Sugar Bowl win.
*He sort of approached the player’s families in the same way in his initial meeting with them. Numerous parents told us he was treating them like children.
*Charlie Strong’s 2015 class clearly dislikes Herman to this day. Many in that class are of the belief Herman and Yancy McKnight negatively impacted draft grades with NFL scouts and GM’s. One player put it to us in very different terms, “they messed with our money.” Maybe some of the players weren’t as good as they thought, but that’s not the point. Plus, some of them were drafted lower than they should have been. Herman had a chance to create allies and instead did the opposite. This ill-will filtered into the following recruiting class. Failure to create allies was a common theme with Herman. So if you’ve wondered where the vitriol on Twitter comes from...
*The man who publicly preached “family” was notorious for passing players in the hallway without any sort of acknowledgement. A few players would even say 'hi' with nothing in return. The players just stopped talking to him. If you weren't Sam Ehlinger or Bijan Robinson he didn’t have much time for you. You can see why the trilateral commission were smitten with Sarkisian’s use of ”authentic.” When Herman was hired we said you can only be Nick Saban or Urban Meyer if you win. He didn’t win and his demeanor bit him on the backside.
Imagine preaching family, but then when a player of yours is sick you call his house to not check up on him, but rather to see how his brother’s recruitment is going.
*Speaking of fake, some of the pregame altercations we saw over the years were staged in order to amp up the team. McKnight would ask a player who didn’t need to be asked twice — think someone like Chris Brown or Jeff McCulloch — to go peck a pregame fight.
*The inability to be genuine cost Herman on the recruiting trail. He wasn’t a terrible recruiter, but there were times he was too distant, and there were times he was too hands on. Two recruitments that stand out as Herman blunders were Noah Cain and Garrett Wilson. After putting in great work late in the Cain recruitment, Drayton and Herman had Cain all but locked up. At the last minute, Herman got antsy and hard-pressed when it wasn’t needed. He basically challenged Cain and in the process pushed him to Penn State.
Wilson’s recruitment was screwed up a couple of times, and Herman wasn’t aided by Drew Mehringer. Sidebar: An issue we heard about a handful of times was coaches using their current players as whipping boys. They’d show tape and talk down the current player to recruits. This was understandably off-putting, but it was consistent with Herman and McKnight talking down their players to the NFL. That upset Wilson, but there was also a time when Herman was... less than presentable around the parents. The Wilsons didn’t have a favorable impression of the head coach and a recruitment that should have been an easy layup was rejected to the rafters.
*Herman had a lot of embarrassing gaffes in his time in Austin. After he flipped off the LHN cameras the school got him an etiquette coach. It was funny a few months later when somebody in a thread here quipped that Tom looked more professional since that incident. Karen Hughes was earning her money... but she was no miracle worker.
*Meritocracy was absent for much of his time in Austin, especially on offense. Herman was notorious for playing his favorites, which should come as no surprise. It drove a wedge within the team when parents driving to Austin during game week to complain about playing time would actually influence playing time.
*There’s a feeling within the current team Herman started learning too little too late. He became more approachable this year. Mike Yurcich became the primary yeller in practice and Herman toned down some. Previously we wrote there were no good cops to offset Herman’s bad cop routine. That stemmed from Herman keeping yes-men around who were trying to act just like him. It seemed like Herman finally started to get it
