Auburn football: Pros and cons of Tom Herman becoming OC

Texas fired Tom Herman, making him a free agent on the college football coaching carousel. Could Auburn football add him to Bryan Harsin’s staff?

Tom Herman was an accomplished coach at the University of Texas at Austin before he was fired, but his trajectory as head coach of the Longhorns was remarkably similar to that of Gus Malzahn’s with Auburn football.

Maybe that isn’t a perfect comparison–after all, Malzahn led the Tigers to the National Championship (the first of that name) in his very first season as HC–but Herman’s stint at UT similarly fizzled out at the end of it.

Like in the City of the Violet Crown, Auburn expects more than what their head coach has delivered these past few seasons. The Plains has a perfect new leader unafraid of challenges that lie ahead…but they can potentially take the Longhorns’ locker-room leader and give him the reins of the offense as the offensive coordinator and spare him the HC spotlight he wilted under in Austin.

Should they, though? The public wants to know:

Let’s examine:

Pros

Tom Herman has seen success at a very high level. Fly War Eagle loves his 2015 season with the University of Houston in which his Cougars defeated the Florida State Seminoles the year after…you know…

He also ended the 2017 season defeating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. He ended the past two seasons in victory, which is better than what Malzahn’s last few seasons ended like besides a 2018 Music City Bowl victory against Purdue.

That Sam Ehlinger has developed into an NFL Draft prospect is a testament to Herman’s offensive vision. Being that they hung 55 points on Colorado in the Alamo Bowl shows that his systems can put up points.

Cons

I absolutely hated this nugget from Burnt Orange Nation’s transcript of a statement from Texas AD Chris Del Conte via the Austin-American Statesman:

"Current players are leaving, and recruits are looking elsewhere. Then, Del Conte learned that some players currently on the roster were doing negative recruiting, telling some not to come to UT. It’s not unusual for disgruntled, outgoing players to talk negatively about a coaching staff they don’t like, though."

That is giving Fly War Eagle a very 2020 Auburn vibe. Players enjoyed the culture Malzahn created, but clearly, there were behind-the-scenes things that have negatively affected players’ thinking of the Auburn football program. Far too many Tigers are heading for the hills and out of the Plains.

Herman’s reputation as not being player-friendly is simply too worrisome to ignore.

Verdict: Pass