I've done this once before, but sure
I talked to my insider within the program over dinner and many drinks last night. The fact he's willing to pound 'em during the season should tell you what a lost cause it is.
"Swanny, I've never been part of such a dysfunctional staff before, and I was on <redacted to protect the witness> staff at <redacted> when he quit back in 2010. We've just lost the locker room. It's totally divided. There's no buy-in, and maybe there never was even though we had what seemed like good morale after UTEP. It's not just The Eyes, it's everything from young guys not respecting the veterans to guys feeling like other position groups aren't working hard to fights over girls".
My guy went on to say that the coaches assume that Herman is toast and they're as busy with networking and resume prep as they are opponent prep. "We out-talented Baylor, with just the most vanilla shit for our gameplan," he explained, "because the players don't care and the coaches are already one foot out the door. You're not gonna see any bells and whistles other than <a couple specific trick plays he named> if Yurcich gets frisky. We're not gonna outthink anyone, we'll just win the ones where our Jimmies are that much better than their Joes".
None of that totally shocked me, but when I brought up recruiting, it got ugly in a hurry. "We're toxic as a program right now. Coach Herman has rubbed seemingly every coach in Houston and Dallas the wrong way, and the ones he still has some rapport with where we can get in the door, the only kids that are listening are the borderline four-stars and the ones with their hands out."
And no, we as a University, athletic program, and coaching staff are not playing THAT particular game, my source assured me.
About the only bit of good news my guy had, other than his two young kids are healthy and back in school, is that Sam Ehlinger is taking a wait-and-see approach to a potential return next year. "Don't listen to a thing the Ehlingers say in public, it's a totally fluid thing," my guy said. "If Coach Herman goes-- and I guess I'd go with him-- then Sam will want to see who the next guy is before he decides on coming back. He's ready to move on if that's the right thing to do, but he really burns for UT, he really wants to win something meaningful here. He could be back in 2021".
And who might that be? Has my guy heard anything? He was coy on that question, thinking he might be able to finagle a job if the biggest fish out there (who he's worked for before) were to take the job. The only thing specific he had to say in regard to the coaching search was, "We're not hearing anything. Chris (Del Conte), you can just feel the icicles when that guy comes to the football offices."