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Tom "the turtle" Herman [Lame Duck or greatest 5d chess player ever?]


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10 hours ago, longhornmatt said:

 

Our offense is generally pretty good, despite the personnel decisions probably limiting us from reaching our potential.  Our defense and special teams are not just bad, but historically bad, and not just in school history but for college football in general.  That level of incompetence is completely inexcusable from the staff.  Major changes are necessary, and it would be gross negligence for management not to make changes given that level of underperformance.

Gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you there, Bob.  We're a good offense if we are playing teams with terrible defenses.  Against good defenses, however, we go in turtle mode and shit the bed.  We seemingly have 2-3 running plays and 2-3 route combinations.  If good DC has a wrinkle (a line stunt, WTF is that!!???) or makes an adjustment after halftime, we have no answer.  We're mediocre at best on offense.  

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This is going to fall on the shoulders of CDC to make changes.

Based on the evidence submitted thus far, I envision Herman staring into his mirror next Monday morning like Arthur Fonzarelli saying...."I was wrrrrrr.   I was wroooo. I was wrooonn.  Oh fuck it.  Winning on the road is hard and my binder says I am right.  These people are idiots.  My staff and I will fix this."

CDC as the Chairman of the Board is going to be forced to pull his CEO aside and say "they go or you all go."

 

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11 hours ago, El Squared said:

The only announcements tomorrow will be injury and excuse updates.....don't expect more.

He has an extension, he is getting paid guaranteed dollars. Why would he change , what incentive is there to change unless there is language in the extension about performance? Pay for performance is unheard of in this realm.

 

 

 

Pride?

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Educated Guess:  Changes will be coming in the offseason, either by choice or by an ultimatum handed down to Herman.

Facts:  Herman has completely lost the lockerroom.  It has become an us vs. them scenario, where players have quit on or given up on the coaches.  Look no further than Sam's "we need to come together" comments, or the Brennan Eagles situation (which resulted in an argument between him and Meh).  I'll go further and say that people should start connecting the dots between the transfer portal and players who are "wanting to redshirt".

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People trashed an article satya posted in a recruiting or 9.95 thread (I think?) about how the injuries can screw up the locker room.  Kelson corroborated with his own experience of trying to get back too fast and how the depth chart gets screwed over whether to play the healthy backup or the gimpy starter and how that creates additional resentment among players.  Whole thing made a lot of sense, especially Kelson's elaboration.

For one thing, I think many of the players understand that they aren't well coached (Sam has come mighty close to saying it outright).  Add in the injuries and the psychological havoc that plays and I think you do indeed have a toxic mixture as far as "losing the locker room."

Ol' Tommy Boy has really filled his britches here in year three.

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4 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Well I guess if Tom is going to fail it is best the floor just fall out rather than having it decay over time.

He has four games to save his program. I guess that provides some drama for the rest of the season.

I agree.  It would be better for the whole thing to incinerate quickly into a pile of ashes instead of slow burn for which a few wins might reduce some of the heat from the more casual fan and of course the media.  The narrative would be Tom has somewhat saved the season and he'd have zero incentives to clean out the trash because Mensa would kick in and he proved us little people wrong.

Tom has proved inept.   We don't go a full four quarters and put away games we should.  It wasn't until the Louisiana Tech game this year, we were able to give backup on offense some significant playing time for the first time in his coaching tenure .   Think about that for a minute.   

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Seems like it's pretty simple for CDC.   Go have a closed-door, candid meeting with Herman.  If Herman hesitates or defends his staff, you know he has to go at the earliest possible opportunity.  If he's willing to make changes but unsure about doing it midseason, there may be some hope.

If CDC has to pressure him to make changes, then might as well start the coaching search now.

We think we know how this would go, but I'm not sure we do.  

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Have you people not been paying attention to the basketball program? When you have a $20M+ buyout, the head coach ain’t getting fired. We have Herman for at least two years. Several assistants will go this year. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether he will replace them with good ones or not.

Hand was a good hire, even though the OL has looked terrible lately. And we aren’t changing offense or defensive scheme imo. We are recruiting true dual threat QB’s right now that aren’t the best fit for air raid. We are recruiting defensive players that fit our current schemes. I hope we aren’t replacing bad with bad.

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Just now, Dbeasy said:

Have you people not been paying attention to the basketball program? When you have a $20M+ buyout, the head coach ain’t getting fired. We have Herman for at least two years. Several assistants will go this year. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether he will replace them with good ones or not.

Hand was a good hire, even though the OL has looked terrible lately. And we aren’t changing offense or defensive scheme imo. We are recruiting true dual threat QB’s right now that aren’t the best fit for air raid. We are recruiting defensive players that fit our current schemes. I hope we aren’t replacing bad with bad.

While that's certainly true of basketball, I think more can be done with football than basketball as far as generating buyout money.

Good Lord extensions two years into a contract are muy estupido.

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1 minute ago, Dbeasy said:

Have you people not been paying attention to the basketball program? When you have a $20M+ buyout, the head coach ain’t getting fired. We have Herman for at least two years. Several assistants will go this year. Unfortunately I’m not sure whether he will replace them with good ones or not.

Hand was a good hire, even though the OL has looked terrible lately. And we aren’t changing offense or defensive scheme imo. We are recruiting true dual threat QB’s right now that aren’t the best fit for air raid. We are recruiting defensive players that fit our current schemes. I hope we aren’t replacing bad with bad.

I think the offensive scheme is here to stay for as long as Herman is here. The defensive scheme I think can be changed, and while Tom might not be fireable I think there is still time for him to shake up his staff. If he waits too long it will start to look like desperation and it will be Charlie Strong after 2015 all over again.

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1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

While that's certainly true of basketball, I think more can be done with football than basketball as far as generating buyout money.

Good Lord extensions two years into a contract are muy estupido.

Speaking of which because I FULLY expect it to become an issue real quick.   Is this the season we can fire Shaka without taking a big hit on a buyout?  

 

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13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

While that's certainly true of basketball, I think more can be done with football than basketball as far as generating buyout money.

Good Lord extensions two years into a contract are muy estupido.

Yes.

And yes. The buyout money wouldn't be hard to get for a football coach.  Basketball is entirely different. 

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1 hour ago, texashorn13 said:

Educated Guess:  Changes will be coming in the offseason, either by choice or by an ultimatum handed down to Herman.

Facts:  Herman has completely lost the lockerroom.  It has become an us vs. them scenario, where players have quit on or given up on the coaches.  Look no further than Sam's "we need to come together" comments, or the Brennan Eagles situation (which resulted in an argument between him and Meh).  I'll go further and say that people should start connecting the dots between the transfer portal and players who are "wanting to redshirt".

Where is this info coming from? Fits the narrative I created for myself so I’m going to trust it but just curious.

 

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8 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Where is this info coming from? Fits the narrative I created for myself so I’m going to trust it but just curious.

 

I think it's reading between the lines, or tea leaves.  There are signs.  Somewhat ambiguous signs.

This one from Sam after OU is a big one:

Quote

“They did a really good job of swarming the football. Obviously they recruit extremely well and have tremendously talented players. I feel like they let them go make plays instead of do a bunch of complex stuff,” he said.

 

Edited by TwiceHorn
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My positive spin on the extension is that CDC sees the issues and has already had a conversation with Tom on the changes that need to come.  Tom has agreed and the extension is to give any prospective coaches they will be interviewing to trust that he has the backing of the AD and university.  Additionally he can tell recruits.

The negative spin is its been in the works since the Sugar Bowl win and we did what we always do and now Tom holds the cards(assuming CDC doesn't have the BMD's ready to write a big check).

IMO, Tom isnt the guy, we will wander around with 7-9 win seasons until he has one fall off the cliff. Hope I am wrong and he grows out of his G5 status

 

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The extension was in May.  Are you saying Herman agreed to make changes, but only after the assistants' contracts expired?  Because I have to believe it's more in the nature of your second proposition.

 

Also, apropos of nothing, I'm going to roast all the people that said Tom had "attention to detail" whatever the fuck that is, while Strong didn't.

Attention to detail is a thing for accountants and engineers and  proofreaders.  Other than that, it's a bunch of nonce words. And I have no idea how you evaluate it for a football coach.  Whatever it is, Tom ain't got it.

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25 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

My positive spin on the extension is that CDC sees the issues and has already had a conversation with Tom on the changes that need to come.  Tom has agreed and the extension is to give any prospective coaches they will be interviewing to trust that he has the backing of the AD and university.  Additionally he can tell recruits.

how fucking long are we supposed to wait for these changes to play out?

CDC: "If you ever change defensive coordinators, I insist you hire someone who knows the difference between his ass and a hole in the ground!" 

Herman: "I AGREE. IF I EVER DO CHANGE DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT DELINEATION IS CLEAR".

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1 minute ago, SwanderedTalent said:

how fucking long are we supposed to wait for these changes to play out?

CDC: "If you ever change defensive coordinators, I insist you hire someone who knows the difference between his ass and a hole in the ground!" 

Herman: "I AGREE. IF I EVER DO CHANGE DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT DELINEATION IS CLEAR".

he doesn't have anyone lined up to replace Orlando on the staff.  he's fucked for this season and he is probably thinking about recruiting.  bringing in Ash as a stop gap after a firing of Orlando would cause more churn on recruits(yes I now Orlando is a shitty recruiter but you sell the scheme and its easier to sell the scheme and blame injuries than say we don't know what the scheme will be next year).  its harder to fire guys in season with the early signing period.

He's rolling the dice he can get guys healthy and win the next 4 games. I see that as very unlikely but whatever, he will lie in the bed he has made.  he wasn't ready which was my concern from Day 1.

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39 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Where is this info coming from? Fits the narrative I created for myself so I’m going to trust it but just curious.

 

Straight out of the lockerroom actually.  I was talking to someone yesterday about the game and how the team took it, and followed up with a question about Brennan Eagles.  All of the info I gave was in the answer about Eagles.  I was also told that several players have been pleaded with to not enter the portal, and as I said, there are a few who are thinking about redshirting this year to save a year of eligibility to enter the portal with.  I was told that the biggest problem in the lockerroom is that what Herman preaches is not what's being practiced.  From Herman --> Coaches --> Players there is a lack in execution of expectations.  Some players are required to follow them, some are not.  Some coaches hold their groups accountable, some don't.

I wrote about this in the Row The Boat thread.  Bag on Fleck if you want, but the guy has a vision for his program, sets the standards and expects people to follow.  He doesn't coach any particular unit, but instead motivates all of them.  Herman seems to want to have his hand in every group, while trying to run the offense, while trying to be the Head Coach, at a University where just being the Head Coach is grossly time demanding.  He needs to focus on being great at one thing (the thing we hired him for) instead of half-assing everything.  He can start by getting rid of the dead weight coaches who can't or won't follow his expectations.  I was told once that "great head coaches hire assistants who are better than them, or who push them to be better."  The problem with Herman is his own self-inflated ego and mindset that he's already the greatest thing in the room.

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2 minutes ago, texashorn13 said:

Straight out of the lockerroom actually.  I was talking to someone yesterday about the game and how the team took it, and followed up with a question about Brennan Eagles.  All of the info I gave was in the answer about Eagles.  I was also told that several players have been pleaded with to not enter the portal, and as I said, there are a few who are thinking about redshirting this year to save a year of eligibility to enter the portal with.  I was told that the biggest problem in the lockerroom is that what Herman preaches is not what's being practiced.  From Herman --> Coaches --> Players there is a lack in execution of expectations.  Some players are required to follow them, some are not.  Some coaches hold their groups accountable, some don't.

I wrote about this in the Row The Boat thread.  Bag on Fleck if you want, but the guy has a vision for his program, sets the standards and expects people to follow.  He doesn't coach any particular unit, but instead motivates all of them.  Herman seems to want to have his hand in every group, while trying to run the offense, while trying to be the Head Coach, at a University where just being the Head Coach is grossly time demanding.  He needs to focus on being great at one thing (the thing we hired him for) instead of half-assing everything.  He can start by getting rid of the dead weight coaches who can't or won't follow his expectations.  I was told once that "great head coaches hire assistants who are better than them, or who push them to be better."  The problem with Herman is his own self-inflated ego and mindset that he's already the greatest thing in the room.

Hi LotusHorn

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41 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

The extension was in May.  Are you saying Herman agreed to make changes, but only after the assistants' contracts expired?  Because I have to believe it's more in the nature of your second proposition.

 

Also, apropos of nothing, I'm going to roast all the people that said Tom had "attention to detail" whatever the fuck that is, while Strong didn't.

Attention to detail is a thing for accountants and engineers and  proofreaders.  Other than that, it's a bunch of nonce words. And I have no idea how you evaluate it for a football coach.  Whatever it is, Tom ain't got it.

fair enough.  I agree it is likely the latter. 

and attention to detail is definitely just BS for don't screw up the coin toss, make sure you have extra A/C units when you go on the road,  shit like that.

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5 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

fair enough.  I agree it is likely the latter. 

and attention to detail is definitely just BS for don't screw up the coin toss, make sure you have extra A/C units when you go on the road,  shit like that.

FTR, I'm not trying to argue with you.  I think you make good points.  Just testing them a little.

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22 minutes ago, Bevo VIII said:

Was the extension fully guaranteed? I can’t remember what I read regarding that.

The deal approved Thursday extends Herman's guaranteed contract through 2023 and will pay him $6.5 million in 2022 and $6.750 million in the final year.

https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/05/23/texas-longhorns-tom-herman-contract-extension

 

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12 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

We ready to fire Tom once year 3 is up?  Cool.. 2025 will be our  year!!

Tom's going nowhere anytime soon. Accept it. But he can't leave this as is. He won't fire TO--yet. But he can shit can Naivar and Washington immediately, both mind-numbing hires to begin with, replace them with Huff who actually knows something about being a DB, give him Griff to help out. Players will respond to this. And ORDER TO to play two DTs with two rush ends, 2LBs, and 5 dbs. Fug that stubborn sumbitch--do what your told jarhead.

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17 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

We ready to fire Tom once year 3 is up?  Cool.. 2025 will be our  year!!

Yeah, this is my biggest problem with this thread.  I get it, head coach at Texas comes with a million or so fans that either love you or hate you based on last Saturday.  Right now I hate pretty much everything associated with Texas Football, because we are right back in the corner wearing the dunce cap for everyone to point and laugh at.

Herman has made some major miscalculations like thinking Orlando was a good DC, and that Beck could call an offense, and hiring to many bros and yes men.  He sure as shit better get that fixed in a hurry.  This season looks to be an utter disappointment with an 8-4 ceiling.

I think the jury is still out, but the negative evidence is mounting.  What happens over these next 4 games will be very telling.  I wanted the guy to be our coach, and I hold out hope he will learn from the shit storm that he is in the middle of.  The good ones face adversity and get better.  This is his first real time looking head on at adversity at Texas.  This isn't Houston, and his teams will no longer be able to sneak up on people.  He has to learn how hated our brand is, and keep our team from thinking they have earned anything that wasn't won on the field.  Mack was able to do that for a short while and he lost his fire, I haven't seen anyone else do it here.  

I get it, it sucks to be a Longhorn right now, but I don't think firing the head coach fixes our program problems.  I guess we will see, but Tom Herman will be our coach in 2020 no doubt.  

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losing to Maryland and struggling with Tulsa told me all I needed to know. having single digit wins over a bunch of teams a really good team should beat soundly was just more data points.

Herman needed this TCU game in the worst way and he laid a huge fucking egg.  missed chip FG's, stupid fucking low percentage passes at the goal line,  cute defenses with only 3 players 8 yards from the line of scrimmage, stupid ass icing TO, etc.

He and the team are at a serious crossroads. 2-2 in the next 4 is going to be a huge step back, 1 and 3 will be an epic disaster, 0-4(not totally out of the question) should normally bring everything in to play(narrator: it doesn't)

the failure to commit to the run in the 2nd half and adjust off what patterson did was damning.

I realize he won't be fired this year but wholesale assistant changes in year 3 just means the inevitable firing will come soon.

it really sucks sitting down to watch any game knowing you have a good chance of getting outcoached, out played and losing every week for 5 fucking years.

 

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Yeah, this is my biggest problem with this thread.  I get it, head coach at Texas comes with a million or so fans that either love you or hate you based on last Saturday.  Right now I hate pretty much everything associated with Texas Football, because we are right back in the corner wearing the dunce cap for everyone to point and laugh at.
Herman has made some major miscalculations like thinking Orlando was a good DC, and that Beck could call an offense, and hiring to many bros and yes men.  He sure as shit better get that fixed in a hurry.  This season looks to be an utter disappointment with an 8-4 ceiling.
I think the jury is still out, but the negative evidence is mounting.  What happens over these next 4 games will be very telling.  I wanted the guy to be our coach, and I hold out hope he will learn from the shit storm that he is in the middle of.  The good ones face adversity and get better.  This is his first real time looking head on at adversity at Texas.  This isn't Houston, and his teams will no longer be able to sneak up on people.  He has to learn how hated our brand is, and keep our team from thinking they have earned anything that wasn't won on the field.  Mack was able to do that for a short while and he lost his fire, I haven't seen anyone else do it here.  
I get it, it sucks to be a Longhorn right now, but I don't think firing the head coach fixes our program problems.  I guess we will see, but Tom Herman will be our coach in 2020 no doubt.  
I think you have to give him at minimum another year.

One thing that sucks about the business of college football coaching, there's such a small sample by which you judge success and so many variables that influence it that making quick decisions is really difficult. Combine that with how much is riding on those decisions, particularly the cost of delaying one that needs to be made, and you can get in a bad place really quickly.

Herman showed enough last year to give you reason to believe. He's shown enough this year to give you reason to doubt. What does that mean for next?

All you can really look for are leading indicators of success or failure, starting with staff and recruiting. If he won't fix staff this off-season or makes questionable hires, my hope is pretty much shot. If he can't convince recruits to stick around through some turbulence and coaching changes, the changes may not matter. His margin for error managing both is very small right now, which is why he's paid so much to do it. He needs to earn it with decisions and execution over the next six months or he'll be dead man walking here.
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He needs to find a senior coach to put on his staff (not GDGD) that he can lean on for advice.  Adding Tomey was the best things that Mack ever did aside from signing Vince.  Hand seems like one of those guys, but I can't name another one.  

He needs to find a DC with skins on the wall and experience.  In my opinion, he has had to take time and effort away from the offense to tend to the defense.  He has zero ability to fix the defense and no one on his staff to turn to that can fix it.  The offense is being run by Beck based on the run / pass ratio.  The special teams isn't being coached at all.

I'm sure Tom feels like he is trying to fix the problems, but the bad thing is that he caused them by not shedding dead weight in the name of "continuity."  I hope he is as smart as he thinks he is.  He really needs some people in his ear to let him know what he is fucking up.

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12 minutes ago, jinx said:

He needs to find a senior coach to put on his staff (not GDGD) that he can lean on for advice.  Adding Tomey was the best things that Mack ever did aside from signing Vince.  Hand seems like one of those guys, but I can't name another one.  

He needs to find a DC with skins on the wall and experience.  In my opinion, he has had to take time and effort away from the offense to tend to the defense.  He has zero ability to fix the defense and no one on his staff to turn to that can fix it.  The offense is being run by Beck based on the run / pass ratio.  The special teams isn't being coached at all.

I'm sure Tom feels like he is trying to fix the problems, but the bad thing is that he caused them by not shedding dead weight in the name of "continuity."  I hope he is as smart as he thinks he is.  He really needs some people in his ear to let him know what he is fucking up.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel. 

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33 minutes ago, jinx said:

Yeah, this is my biggest problem with this thread.  I get it, head coach at Texas comes with a million or so fans that either love you or hate you based on last Saturday.  Right now I hate pretty much everything associated with Texas Football, because we are right back in the corner wearing the dunce cap for everyone to point and laugh at.

Herman has made some major miscalculations like thinking Orlando was a good DC, and that Beck could call an offense, and hiring to many bros and yes men.  He sure as shit better get that fixed in a hurry.  This season looks to be an utter disappointment with an 8-4 ceiling.

I think the jury is still out, but the negative evidence is mounting.  What happens over these next 4 games will be very telling.  I wanted the guy to be our coach, and I hold out hope he will learn from the shit storm that he is in the middle of.  The good ones face adversity and get better.  This is his first real time looking head on at adversity at Texas.  This isn't Houston, and his teams will no longer be able to sneak up on people.  He has to learn how hated our brand is, and keep our team from thinking they have earned anything that wasn't won on the field.  Mack was able to do that for a short while and he lost his fire, I haven't seen anyone else do it here.  

I get it, it sucks to be a Longhorn right now, but I don't think firing the head coach fixes our program problems.  I guess we will see, but Tom Herman will be our coach in 2020 no doubt.  

If we go 0-4 the next month,  it should be VERY telling.   And really the last five minutes of the TCU game should be enough evidence this team gave up.  Hopefully I'm just misreading on thinking they gave up for the rest of the season.   But I've seen this song and dance before.

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53 minutes ago, jinx said:

Yeah, this is my biggest problem with this thread.  I get it, head coach at Texas comes with a million or so fans that either love you or hate you based on last Saturday.  Right now I hate pretty much everything associated with Texas Football, because we are right back in the corner wearing the dunce cap for everyone to point and laugh at.

Herman has made some major miscalculations like thinking Orlando was a good DC, and that Beck could call an offense, and hiring to many bros and yes men.  He sure as shit better get that fixed in a hurry.  This season looks to be an utter disappointment with an 8-4 ceiling.

I think the jury is still out, but the negative evidence is mounting.  What happens over these next 4 games will be very telling.  I wanted the guy to be our coach, and I hold out hope he will learn from the shit storm that he is in the middle of.  The good ones face adversity and get better.  This is his first real time looking head on at adversity at Texas.  This isn't Houston, and his teams will no longer be able to sneak up on people.  He has to learn how hated our brand is, and keep our team from thinking they have earned anything that wasn't won on the field.  Mack was able to do that for a short while and he lost his fire, I haven't seen anyone else do it here.  

I get it, it sucks to be a Longhorn right now, but I don't think firing the head coach fixes our program problems.  I guess we will see, but Tom Herman will be our coach in 2020 no doubt.  

Name a coach that you personally patiently waited on to get better despite egregious early mistakes, and whose tenure you were ultimately satisfied with.

I feel like we need to go Costanza on this. We've tried it the tut-tut, "The University of Texas doesn't do things that way" way and Oklahoma is leaving us in the dust. Let's try it the "we want to win" way for a while and see if it's better. Worst case is the same either way: we're digging out of more rubble. Best case doing it Our Way seems to be Mack Brown.

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  • immamac changed the title to Tom Herman, Still The Head Coach at Texas

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