Herman ranked Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida State ahead of the Texas Longhorns.
The final US LBM Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday, with Texas coming in at No. 4. Many coaches showed respect for Texas by having them ranked within the top three. Former Texas coach Tom Herman did not think the same way as others.
The Florida Atlantic head coach put Texas No. 6 in the final Coaches Poll behind Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida State. Despite making it to the College Football Playoff and beating Alabama in a head-to-head matchup, Herman put the Longhorns behind the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide.
Now, why would he do this?
Honestly, no one truly knows. He must believe that Texas didn’t deserve to be in the College Football Playoff, otherwise the Longhorns would have been among the top four of his rankings.
Herman was fired from Texas following the 2020 season, and despite a winning record and going 4-0 in bowl games, Herman wasn’t the coach of the future in Austin.
With an improved culture under Steve Sarkisian, Texas finished the 2023 season with a 12-2 record, Big 12 Championship, and a College Football Playoff berth.
Former #Texas HC Tom Herman left the #Longhorns out of the top 5 in his final coaches poll…
Operating under the assumption that Tucker has coached his last game as the head man of the Michigan State football program, as Lansing State Journal reporter Graham Couch speculated, the Spartans will be in the market for a new leader of their football program.
Check out some of the potential candidates Michigan State could look to bring in:
These college football coaches are ready for new opportunities. How will they do?
The college football season is upon us as teams prepare to take to the gridiron for yet another season of competition, traditions and intrigue.
As is customary with any new sports season, all eyes will be on the new guys on the sideline leading new programs across the spectrum of college football.
Which eight college coaches do we have a particular interest in this fall? Some are attempting comebacks, while others are fascinating risers who are taking on their first major gigs.
Let’s see who these fresh and familiar faces are among the coaching ranks.
Former Alabama TE announces transfer location to Florida Atlantic
The most recent of 17 former Alabama football players to announce his transfer destination this offseason is tight-end, Elijah Brown, who announced via social media on Monday that he would be continuing his collegiate career with the Florida Atlantic Owls. Brown is the only one of the Alabama transfers to not land at another Power Five program, but he will be teaming up with former Texas head coach Tom Herman.
Brown only spent one year in Tuscaloosa after enrolling early in January of 2022. He has a massive frame at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and will certainly find a role in the Owls’ offense. Coming out of high school, Brown was a four-star recruit and the No. 8 TE in his class. He will have four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2022.
Alabama has plenty of depth at the tight end position heading into 2023. Incoming top-100 recruit, Amari Niblack, is expected to see playing time from early on and Alabama also decided to add former Maryland TE, C.J. Dippre via the transfer portal.
Former Alabama TE Elijah Brown announces on Instagram he’s committed to FAU. He was only scholarship player from Alabama left in portal who hadn’t committed somewhere yet pic.twitter.com/FVlSZX3bTr
Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor Elijah Brown’s collegiate career.
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A potential Tom Herman and Casey Thompson reunion could be on the horizon.
Former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson is on the move again.
Thompson is searching for a school to play his final year of college eligibility for the 2023 season. He entered the transfer portal as a graduate after playing one season with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. A potential reunion with his former head coach could be on the horizon.
Former Texas and currently FAU head coach Tom Herman is hosting Thompson for a visit this week.
Herman recruited and signed Thompson with the Longhorns in the class of 2018. He served in a backup role for three seasons under Herman until his firing following the 2020 season.
Thompson had an up-and-down year in 2022 for Nebraska. He threw for 2,407 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while starting 10 games.
The move would make tons of sense for both sides. Herman gets an experienced quarterback to lead his team in year one of the new gig. Thompson can return to the offensive system that he spent three years developing in.
Nebraska transfer quarterback Casey Thompson is expected to visit FAU next week, a source tells @247SportsPortal.
Owls head coach Tom Herman initially recruited Thompson to Texas as part of the 2018 class. https://t.co/XdxifSx8Of
It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban took home the top spot. Despite Kirby Smart winning back-to-back national championships, it wasn’t enough to unseat one of the greatest head coaches of all time. Saban has won seven national championships since 2000.
On Tuesday, they released their top Group of 5 head coach rankings. Gilmer high school coaching legend Jeff Traylor made the list as the top head coach heading into 2023.
What The Athletic Says…
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Few coaching hires anywhere have been as successful as Traylor, who in three years has produced the three best seasons in UTSA’s short history. The Roadrunners have won two consecutive Conference USA championships, with a 23-5 overall record and a 17-1 record against C-USA teams over the last two years. He also just signed the No. 1 G5 high school recruiting class in the 2023 cycle. Traylor passed on interest from Texas Tech a year ago, but the former legendary Texas high school coach is making his mark at the college level.
Traylor joined the Texas Longhorns following the 2014 season with Gilmer, he served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2015 and 2016. He was named associate head coach at SMU and also coached running backs for one season prior to joining the Arkansas staff. UT-San Antonio would make Traylor their next head coach for the 2022 campaign. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons. This year he will look for his first bowl victory.
Another former Longhorn coach made the list as he returns to the collegiate landscape with Tom Herman checking in at No. 7.
What The Athletic Says…
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The former Houston and Texas coach is back in college football after two seasons spent in the NFL and in the media. Herman’s resume is still quite impressive: Four Top 25 finishes in six years as a head coach (including two top 10s), two New Year’s Six bowl wins, zero seasons with a losing overall or conference record. He takes over an FAU team moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. Herman is only this low because it’s been a few years since he was last in college football.
Herman finished his run at Texas with four-straight winning seasons and becoming the only Longhorns head coach to win a bowl game in each of his first four seasons. He never suffered a losing season but athletic director Chris Del Conte opted to go in a different direction, ultimately hiring Steve Sarkisian away from Alabama.
After being away from the college game for two years, we shall see what Herman has in store with FAU as he returns to the AAC where he coached Houston from 2015 to 2016.
These two head coaches will go head to head on Oct. 21 in Boca Raton. This conference matchup’s game time is still to be determined.
