The Texas Longhorns are a team that has underperformed for the last decade. It started with the decline under long-time coach Mack Brown you spent 16 seasons in Austin. That was followed up by a disaster of a three-season run by Charlie Strong and now a less than stellar campaign under Tom Herman. Herman did lead them to three consecutive bowl games in which they won. However, only one Big 12 Championship game appearance and one New Years Six bowl isn’t enough.
The University of Texas generates more revenue than any school in the country. They have begun to work on upgrading their facilities and the stadium. Which helps when it comes to recruiting and visits each year by top recruits. Now they need the head coach that is going to get them there. They thought they had the guy in Tom Herman.
Step inside the Texas Longhorns' amazing $7 million football locker room pic.twitter.com/7oze6WuN9g
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) February 4, 2019
Herman was the offensive coordinator at Ohio State when they won the National Championship in 2015 along with current defensive coordinator Chris Ash. They improved to 7-6 in Herman’s first year from the 5-7 2016 season under Strong. In 2018 they won double-digit games, defeated Oklahoma, played in their first conference title game since 2009 and won a New Years Six game. That year they defeated the No. 6 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Since that run in 2018, it has been downhill for the Longhorns. They have won just 11 games with seven losses in the 18 games following. Under Tom Herman the team is 10-7 as a ranked team playing an unranked opponent. Losing seven games to unranked teams shouldn’t sit well with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte. Not to even mention the recruiting aspect, but we will get there momentarily.
This season he had the opportunity for a clean slate and CDC has stated numerous times that Herman knows you only get this one chance. He brought in Ash and Mike Yurcich from Ohio State. The team looked solid in the first game against an inferior opponent in UTEP. Since that game they struggled with a Texas Tech team that has won just once in conference play.
They lost to a TCU team that Herman has struggled with his entire tenure but was blown out by Oklahoma. They forced overtime against the Sooners and in the Tech game because of the quarterback. Sam Ehlinger has saved this team time and time again. The Longhorns did win their last game against Baylor, who has struggled out of the gate. They handled a Kansas team but lost to West Virginia and now the Longhorns.
There isn’t anything that this team has done on the field to lead you to believe they are trending in the right direction. The 2018 season looks like an aberration on the Herman resume. He won at Houston but that hasn’t translated to Austin. Now that is starting to leak into recruiting. This isn’t something new.
The first domino to fall in the downward spiral was the legacy twins. James and Tommy Brockermeyer were set to join the Texas Longhorns as third generation talents. Their grandfather and father played for the Longhorns. Their brother Luke is currently on the team. However, the constant failing on the football field, the lack of development pushed them to the University of Alabama.
Shortly after securing the commitment of Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns lost another top recruit in Jalen Milroe. Again he is heading to Alabama. The last one being the decommitment of Ewers. He likely is now heading to Ohio State.
In 2017 the Longhorns ranked 25th in the 247Composite team rankings. They followed that up with a top three classes in 2018, 2019. The finished the 2020 class with the No. 8 ranked class. This next class not anywhere near that level. They currently sit at 17th for the 2021 class after losing out on the Brockermeyers, Milroe and even Billy Bowman.
Regardless of the buyout for Tom Herman, the Longhorns need to make it happen. They shouldn’t be a middle of the road football team. They have finances, they have the updated facilities, they need the football coach. If the Longhorns need the money for a buyout, they will find it.