After initially saying that Tom Herman would remain the coach of the Texas football program in mid-December, the Longhorns on Saturday turned around and fired Herman after four seasons with the team. Texas will hire Alabama’s offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as a replacement for Herman, said a source close to the suit, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.
The decision to leave Herman was made after assessing the program’s strengths and weaknesses, according to a statement released by Texas. This comes just four days after UT defeated Colorado 55-23 at the Alamo Bowl, with many young players shining during the game.
Sarkisian, in the wake of the 31-14 Rose Bowl victory over No. 4 Notre Dame of Alabama, is expected to train his final game for the Crimson Tide at the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 11. 247Sports’ Chip Brown Sarkisian first reported would replace Herman in Texas.
Although Sarkisian has successfully served as an offensive coordinator for the past four seasons in Alabama and the Atlanta Falcons, he spent seven seasons as a head coach in Pac-12, first in Washington (2009-13) and then in the USC (2014-15). Sarkisian went 34-29 (24-21 Pac-12) with the Huskies, taking the program to four bowl games over five seasons and setting the stage for the success he found under Chris Petersen.
Sarkisian was 9-4 (6-3 Pac-12) with a bowl victory in his first season at USC, but was fired five games in the 2015 campaign after taking a leave in the midst of a battle against alcoholism. After completing a rehabilitation period, Sarkisian joined Crimson Tide as an offensive analyst and was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator, just like before a CFP National Championship game when Lane Kiffin left the program to take over as coach. at FAU.
Herman owes a $ 15 million purchase with his assistants totaling an additional $ 10 million in purchases for a total spend of almost $ 25 million just to remove the football team.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte also released a separate statement on Twitter, calling Herman’s resignation a “very, very difficult” decision that requires “a lot of deliberation and a lot of reflection”.
Herman had 32-18 in four seasons in Texas, appearing in the Big 12 Championship Game only once in 2018; the Longhorns lost 39-27 to rival Oklahoma. Texas posted a 6-3 mark in the 2020 regular season, losing the Big 12 title game and falling below pre-season expectations. Herman had a 10-win season in Texas, otherwise averaging eight wins a year.
Unmet expectations resulted in rumors that Texas was looking for former Ohio and Florida state coach Urban Meyer to be its next manager. These rumors never materialized, and Del Conte released a statement on December 12 reiterating that Herman was the program’s trainer.
Sarkisian will be Texas’ third coach in the past eight seasons, while the Longhorns have struggled to find a replacement for Mack Brown. The program quickly passed Charlie Strong (2014-16) and Herman (2017-20) after Brown spent 16 years leading the Horns.
Texas and Alabama will start a football series at home and at home in 2022.