Ex-Texas football coach Tom Herman mentioned as On3 HC candidate

Former Texas football head coach Tom Herman will hit the spotlight around the college football landscape once again this fall as a member of the CBS Sports broadcasting team. After serving one season as an offensive analyst/special projects coach under former head coach Matt Nagy in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Herman is now moving onto the broadcast booth for at least one year.

But there was a recent list from Mike Huguenin of On3 on Aug. 23 that potentially hinted at the next steps for the former Longhorns skipper if he were to rejoin the college football coaching ranks. Herman was included on a list of former college football bench bosses that could soon become head coaches again in the college ranks.

Here’s more on what this On3 list had to say on Herman as a potential candidate to return to the college football coaching ranks.

"Herman, 47, flamed out in a big way at Texas, but he never has had a losing record in his six years as a head coach. Houston is headed to the Big 12, and Herman laid at least a bit of that groundwork in his two years with the Cougars. He was the offensive coordinator for the 2014 Ohio State team that won the national title (with a third-team quarterback, at that), and his offensive acumen rarely has been questioned. He also oversaw productive offenses at Rice and Iowa State. Herman spent last season as an offensive analyst with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, but the Bears’ staff was let go at the end of the season."

Herman did have a winning track record both during his four seasons as the Texas head coach and his two years as the head coach of the Houston Cougars. He posted a record of 32-18 (.640 winning percentage) during his four seasons at Texas and a record of 22-4 (.846 winning percentage) in his two seasons at Houston.

On3 tabs former Texas football HC Tom Herman as a potential coaching candidate in the near future

Bowl season was also friendly to Herman, as he found plenty of success in his six postseason appearances with Texas and Houston. He registered a record of 5-1 in bowl games, making the postseason in every single year he was a head coach at Houston and Texas.

Yet, the downfall for Herman with the Longhorns was pretty clear. There were issues behind the scenes and he just wasn’t meeting expectations on the field or on the recruiting trail by the end of his run on the Forty Acres.

Herman just wasn’t going to get Texas where they wanted to go, despite posting a winning record in each of his four seasons with the program. That’s why Texas brought in current head coach Steve Sarkisian to replace Herman early last offseason.

However, it will be interesting to see if Herman does return to the college coaching ranks in the near future. His winning track record is likely to appeal to at least some Group of Five programs around the college football landscape.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12) in Sark’s first season at the helm, which saw them fall short of postseason eligibility for the first time since 2016. The Longhorns will open up the 2022 regular season at home on Sep. 3 against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.