So why do you think some people have decided to defend Giles to such extremes? I am merely positing that some may want to think Herman infallible and therefore are inclined to think Giles is serving some role in an elite fashion to warrant his place on the staff. I am not sure what else motivates them. The on-field coaching staff is probably the most glaring issues at this point in his UT tenure (hopefully he stops coughing up games to shitty teams as he has done in each of his 4 seasons as an HC).
The program is trending in the right direction, but let's see where it goes first and whether his blind spots, especially on the coaching staff, prove to be his undoing or not. The conference is still owned by OU, though to me perhaps the best thing that can be said of Herman thus far is that it is unlikely his teams will ever lay down to OU like too many of Mack's teams did. However, Herman's brief record shows some of Mack's inability to navigate the full conference slate necessary to winning a conference consistently. I want to see him lock down a conference title this season.