Texas Football: First domino could’ve fallen with Vandy firing Derek Mason

Vanderbilt firing their now former head coach Derek Mason could be a domino to fall in the timeline for Texas football making a decision on Tom Herman.

It really feels like we’re starting to reach the point of the college football calendar where the coaching carousel could start spinning in mass. One of the major events that could mark the start of that point on the college football calendar was the Vanderbilt Commodores firing their now former head coach Derek Mason on Nov. 29. This could be something that potentially speeds up the timeline for which the Texas football program and overall athletic administration/boosters decide what to do with fourth-year head coach Tom Herman.

While Mason was in a much worse spot in terms of success in the win column this year with Vanderbilt in the SEC East, his program’s expectations are much lower than that of the Longhorns. Vanderbilt held a record of 0-8 (0-8 SEC) after falling short to the Mizzou Tigers on Nov. 28, thus leading to the Mason firing the following day.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns own a record of 5-3 (4-3 Big 12) following their disheartening last second loss to head coach Matt Campbell and the No. 13 ranked Iowa State Cyclones on Black Friday/Senior Day. Texas fell short to Iowa State at home back on Nov. 27 by the final score of 23-20, after missing a last second field goal try from junior kicker Cameron Dicker which would’ve sent the game into overtime.

With that loss to Iowa State now sealed for Herman and the Longhorns, the hot seat discussion has reignited very fast. Texas just lost what was likely their final chance to make a push to get a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game this year by losing to the Cyclones heading into the post-Thanksgiving weekend.

And while we shouldn’t expect any decision in the very immediate future from the Longhorns in terms of what to do with Herman, the writing is on the wall about his fate on the Forty Acres. With other head coaches getting the boot in recent weeks, it could only speed up the timeline for which a Herman decision is made by the Longhorns.

Texas is not seeing much of any consistent success on the field or on the recruiting trail right now, which does not bode well for the future of this program. If there is another candidate out there for the Longhorns to explore in the near future, that could also speed up the time for which a Herman decision gets made.

Other key head coaching decisions that were already made this season includes the South Carolina Gamecocks letting go of head coach and former Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, and the Michigan Wolverines and Penn State Nittany Lions could soon be the next to join the carousel. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is not in an admirable position after losing to Penn State over the weekend.