Tom "the turtle" Herman [Lame Duck or greatest 5d chess player ever?]

[Bigbend1812 12915]

[Cajun 11705]

This will be the entirety of UT Brass's "reflection" on Mensa - 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Cajun
Why the make the BIG $$$$$$s

[Knighthawk 284]

1 hour ago, freyguy said:

I'd prefer it happen right after the game.  They pull Tom aside after the loss, and Urban himself says "find your own ride home motherfucker, this seat's taken"

Announce before the game.  The team would be freaking jacked for that game.  First legit blowout of the year.   

[BurntOrange&White 39931]

https://twitter.com/rodbabers/status/1334150955043086342?s=20

[52-80 19151]

On 12/2/2020 at 3:44 PM, pearlandhorn said:

I’d like to point out that I’m not PearlandHorn at IT.

 

Carry on...

that's exactly what i'd expect PearlandHorn at IT to say.....

[Longboard Horn 40317]

On 11/30/2020 at 11:37 AM, Burt Macklin said:

Thanks for letting us know your'e an aggy. If you don't want to cuss, then don't cuss but replacing cuss words with bleep or using other characters and then saying you don't cuss is right up there with saying "natty" on of the list of stupid, cringy things message board posters do.

Negged for using “natty” 

[Funk Doctor Spock 12190]

On 12/1/2020 at 5:52 PM, Happy Gilmore said:

Same. But I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

I think we all were. We were caught up in the excitement of a new locker room, etc. 

[Etexhorn13 3045]

A buddy of mine is at Pluckers during his Craig Way show... if that doesn’t look like a dude that’s tired and beat down about to be fired (and knows it) I don’t know what does. 

[TreatyOak 16313]

13 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

A buddy of mine is at Pluckers during his Craig Way show... if that doesn’t look like a dude that’s tired and beat down about to be fired (and knows it) I don’t know what does. 

I like how no one is paying attention to what Turtle Tom has to say. 

[Atticus 3973]

Considering the alleged spike in covid cases on the team, it's also interesting that he isn't wearing a mask.

[satyanash 14482]

(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: Why Tom Herman failed at Texas

Quote

Tom Herman has failed at Texas. A 30-18 overall record to this point and 21-13 mark in Big 12 play, while unimpressive, don’t quite tell the story. The failure to win a single Big 12 Championship despite signing 74 blue chips over five years while Oklahoma signed 71, TCU 27, Baylor 21, and everyone else in the conference under 10 gets a little closer to capturing why this wasn’t working.

Perhaps the most deeply felt problem has been Texas’ failure under Heman to secure more 20-point victories in Big 12 play since 2017 than just one team...Kansas. They’re tied with Kansas State currently, each program boasting only two 20-point victories, while Oklahoma paces the league with 13 such wins.

Great teams don’t routinely win close games because great teams don’t routinely PLAY close games, they blow teams out. Watching Texas in the Tom Herman era has meant watching the Longhorns struggle to generate wins on a weekly basis. Rather than reveling in Texas’ status as the most resource-rich program in the league, as the flagship program of the nation’s most football-crazed state, fans and alumni of the University have had to squirm for four quarters every Saturday as their team desperately fends off Texas Tech and Kansas and succumbs to Iowa State and Baylor. This ain’t what being a Longhorn is supposed to feel like.

This was a down year for the Big 12, well illustrated by Oklahoma’s weekly struggle to stay alive while Iowa State has held onto the top spot. Despite this context, Texas will be ending the season not only without any hardware but also without having even played in the league title game. How did this happen?

The fundamental failure of the Tom Herman era

Tom Herman earned his first head coaching job by coordinating an overpowering run game that propelled Ohio State to the Big 10 and then National Championship in 2014. He chose wisely, landing at Houston with a 7-5 team and Greg Ward Jr. at quarterback. He was also parked just a few hours from Austin where the Longhorns were in the midst of a Charlie Strong era off to a horrible start.

Everything clicked in year one. Herman deployed standard spread tactics with Ward and star receiver Demarcus Ayers to go 13-1 and win the AAC Championship. Ayers had 1221 receiving yards and Ward survived 197 carries to pick up 1114 yards at 5.7 ypc with 21 rushing touchdowns (including sack yardage!). Then Tom Herman signed a 5-star defensive tackle in Ed Oliver who helped the Cougars beat Oklahoma in the season opener, overcome injuries to Ward and the offensive line, and beat Lamar Jackson’s Louisville in primetime.

The penchant for big game performances, high level recruiting, apparently strong defensive hires, and spread offense competence made it all seem obvious Herman was the guy for Texas. The physical victory over Oklahoma really captured everyone’s imagination in Longhorn nation.

Herman’s strategy at Texas, from day one, was to build a power-spread offense to grind down smaller, less talented teams in the Big 12 by running the ball and facilitating great defense. Given the Longhorns were coming off a season in which their main back had rushed for over 2,000 yards behind an offensive line returning four starters, and power running quarterback Sam Ehlinger was enrolling early, things certainly appeared promising on this front.

Instead the 2017 offensive line and tight end were savaged by injuries and became an absolute train wreck. Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele each rotated in at quarterback while the other nursed fresh injuries. Texas’ ability to control games and dominate opponents in the box was off to the worst possible start.

Subsequent seasons saw improvement, but never dominance. Texas has had just two offensive linemen selected to the league’s All-Big 12 team during the Tom Herman era. Zach Shackleford was second team in 2018 and first team in 2019 while Sam Cosmi was second team in 2019 and will likely be first team in 2020. The tight end position has put just one player on the All-Big 12 list when Andrew Beck was named first team fullback in 2018. It’s not a coincidence this was the one truly solid season of the Tom Herman era.

The team has not fielded even one thousand-yard rusher in this period and while Sam Ehlinger has brought fantastic situational power running he’s not an every down, between the tackles runner who can tote the ball for 200 carries per year.

The 2018 season featured significant improvement upon the disastrous 2017 season thanks to the addition of grad transfer left tackle Calvin Anderson and the health of right guard Elijah Rodriguez and tight end Andrew Beck. Things improved further in 2019 as the running back room became more talented, the line grew, and Texas added more RPOs to keep opponents clear out of the box lest they be punished by pass options to Collin Johnson (when healthy) or Devin Duvernay.

In 2020 Texas took a big step back in several regards. Mike Yurcich tried to emphasize outside zone blocking, which has been a poor fit with an offensive line recruited and developed before 2020 for driving opponents off the ball in tight zone and power schemes. The pandemic-shortened offseason also clearly limited their ability to rep the scheme, which is heavy on timing and chemistry, and it’s not a Herb Hand specialty anyways.

Herb Hand is notably the second offensive line coaching hire of the Tom Herman era at Texas, which is only now completing its fourth season. The RPO game was diminished by the absence of a X receiver who could consistently get to the right spots on glance routes and by Texas having a revolving door at slot receiver due to injuries to Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington.

Finally in recruiting, Texas managed to miss on Longhorn legacies Tommy and James Brockermeyer despite the family’s deep connections to the University which include an older brother Luke who’s on scholarship for the team.

Throughout the Tom Herman era to date, Texas has never established an identity as a dominant rushing team. In fact, their games are generally characterized by an inability to control games with the rushing attack followed up by desperate efforts by Sam Ehlinger to guide the team to victory with passing game heroics. They’ve also tended to lack an explosive dimension to create margins, pairing the power running Ehlinger with other power runners in the backfield, and featuring star receivers such as Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson who excelled at moving the chains but not necessarily breaking away from tacklers in the open field.

So the vision for establishing a power running team that could control games in the Big 12 has never materialized but given way to cringey performances every Saturday in which fans experience heart palpitations watching the team try to manage single-score games in the fourth quarter.

An opportunity squandered

Throughout the Tom Herman era there’s been one positive keeping the team competitive. Sam Ehlinger’s performances in the dropback passing game, particularly when executed from spread sets at tempo.

While his 225-pound frame and 33 career rushing touchdowns have always evoked comparisons to Tim Tebow, it’s been the other dimension to the old Urban Meyer offenses where Texas’ signal caller has truly dominated. Ehlinger’s greatest strength on the football field is his ability to shoulder responsibilities for making audibles and checks to plays and protections on the field, read defenses, make quick decisions in the spread passing game, and then scramble and become a power runner when plays break down.

The reason for the significant uptick of his yards per carry numbers and raw rushing yardage in 2019 was Texas’ increased use of five-wide formations where he’d leverage all of those strengths to dominate opponents in the middle of the field in a fashion similar to an elite power rushing attack. With reliable receivers like Lil’Jordan Humphrey or Devin Duvernay running routes in the seams and over the middle, opponents really struggled to match up and deny seams for quick passing.

Many would simply drop everyone and drop them deep, only to surrender rushing lanes underneath for Ehlinger scrambles. He’s a gifted runner between the tackles but even more effective on scrambles and draws when opponents have to try and rally to tackle him while also covering up his receivers and checkdown options.

Naturally, quarterback draws with pass options attached were absolutely deadly with Ehlinger.

This is the play that turned Johnny Manziel into a thousand-yard rusher and Heisman-winner at Texas A&M. Quarterback draws with pass options are the pinnacle of spread spacing and stress. The passer can be given pass options, even vertical pass options, with little to no risk of incurring “ineligible receiver downfield” penalties because if the play extends then the offensive line are allowed to get downfield to block for the quarterback. The first option is a pass, the second option is a run.

On average, Texas has run something like one quarterback draw per game in the Tom Herman era.

Sam Ehlinger will not be remembered properly for his time at Texas because Tom Herman never adjusted the offense to maximize his senior quarterback. They did come close. Texas could have maximized the Ehlinger era last offseason when Herman had to move on from a significant portion of his offensive staff and hire a new coordinator. Up and coming Air Raid guru Graham Harrell was available, Tom Herman had him on the line, and then ultimately he chose to go in another direction. Herman went to what he knew, hiring Mike Yurcich from familiar Ohio State from which all of his notions of what championship football look like, in order to simply tweak what he was doing rather than embracing wholesale change.

Yurcich has Air Raid influences on his offense but puts greater emphasis on RPOs and play-action over the top, both of which require highly skilled play at outside receiver and effective rushing attacks. Texas hasn’t had the former in 2020 and the latter was undercut by Yurcich’s adjustments to the run game. Mack Brown built his career and legacy from adjusting his offense to the skill sets of Vince Young and Colt McCoy. When Tom Herman was in a make or break year with a star senior quarterback he failed to adjust, squandered the talent, and went down in flames.

While Sam Ehlinger’s skill set suggested the right solution was to build a power running game with quarterback run option elements, the better path to building a ball control offense to could dominate the league was actually to emphasize HUNH spread passing. Texas came into 2020 with a pair of very solid tackles, a senior quarterback, and a deep stable of speedy but unproven receivers. Rather than swallowing his pride and aiming to build an offense around the strengths of the roster, Herman doubled down once more on the style he used to win at Ohio State and Houston. An understandable error, but an error all the same.

Winning at Texas isn’t necessarily about a specific system or process. It’s about harnessing a large talent pool and base of resources and simply getting it pointing in the right direction. Getting “all the BBs back in the box” isn’t just about coalescing the political support of Texas’ numerous big money donors. It’s about getting the state’s prodigious talents in positions and tactics on the field where they can dominate.

Mack Brown lost his touch for it, Charlie Strong never had it, and Tom Herman never understood it either but could only mime what he’d seen from Urban Meyer at Ohio State in a particular season. Longhorns fans can now only hope the next coach will be able to successfully load, aim, and fire Texas’ considerable resources.

 

[ConferenceRoom 6141]

Tom Herman is in fact a turtle. That's all you had to say. Tom is turtle. Turtle Tom. 

[Mantis Toboggan, MD 1501]

I’d be much happier looking if I was about to be paid $15 million for not working

[Mantis Toboggan, MD 1501]

I’d be much happier looking if I was about to be paid $15 million for not working

[4th&Five 41526]

5 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Considering the alleged spike in covid cases on the team, it's also interesting that he isn't wearing a mask.

and sitting 3 feet from some randos eating wings!

[maninblack 7974]

Ingram looking to transfer now as well. Herman has to go regardless of what happens with Urbs.

[perfectchaos007 6636]

On 11/27/2020 at 7:37 PM, perfectchaos007 said:

Can’t wait for CDCs weekly musings “I loved watching our guys play hard and represent the university so well. Although this one ended in a heartbreaker no one is more disappointed than our players. The players and coach Tom Herman are looking forward to getting the season back on track at the little apple next weekend.” 
-CDC probably 

My prediction was actually pretty close and would pass as an abridged version

 

Unfortunately, the game didn't end the way we wanted it, but our team played their hearts out to the very end in a game we lost in the final seconds to No. 13 Iowa State, 23-20. We had our chances, missed on some opportunities, and when Cameron Dicker's tremendous field goal effort from 57 yards out was just wide left, I was just heartbroken for our seniors on Senior Day. They've been through so much, experienced spectacular highs, along with some difficult challenges, but they've always left it all on the field for the Burnt Orange and White and handled themselves with class and dignity. All they can do now is pick themselves up, dust off and get ready to compete again as we travel to Kansas State this Saturday (11 a.m. CT on FOX). I know they will, and they'll give it everything they have as we look to get back on the winning track.

[MAUFRAIS 6624]

yeah i just deleted that email.  but before i did i clicked command f and searched "herman."  zero returns.  then i did the same for "coach" and it mentioned a shitload of coaches, including mr. credit cars himself, tom penders.

[Valmy77 13226]

4 hours ago, maninblack said:

Ingram looking to transfer now as well. Herman has to go regardless of what happens with Urbs.

Yes. He should have been gone right after OU. How many players have decided to either not come here or leave since then?

I don't understand what exactly his role is at this point besides emptying the cupboard and unbaking the cake or whatever other metaphor one might want to use.

Since he wasn't fired on Tuesday I guess we wait around until next week. No reason not to let the program completely collapse and flatline before another coach comes in, it provides lots of good reasons for the failure that coach is going to have to weather in 2021.

LSU would have fired his ass the second they knew he had failed. Letting failure fester for months out of some bizarre sense of tradition doesn't make any sense to me and we have been paying the price.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Valmy77

[Longboard Horn 40317]

OMG NEW THUJONE SHAME PAINT!!

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

Yes. He should have been gone right after OU. How many players have decided to either not come here or leave since then?
I don't understand what exactly his role is at this point besides emptying the cupboard and unbaking the cake or whatever other metaphor one might want to use.
Since he wasn't fired on Tuesday I guess we wait around until next week. No reason not to let the program completely collapse and flatline before another coach comes in, it provides lots of good reasons for the failure that coach is going to have to weather in 2021.
LSU would have fired his ass the second they knew he had failed. Letting failure fester for months out of some bizarre sense of tradition doesn't make any sense to me and we have been paying the price.

Eh. LSU was afraid to can Miles. That was a complete shitshow.

[Valmy77 13226]

39 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Eh. LSU was afraid to can Miles. That was a complete shitshow.

Seems to have worked out for them. But they are hardly the only school to fire their failed head coach as soon as they could.

Anyway I am not getting my way on this, all I can do is bitch on a message board. 

I am sure having our coach fired three days or so before early signing day will not be a complete shitshow at all. Nope.

[Knighthawk 284]

On 10/17/2020 at 9:34 AM, Knighthawk said:

Worst case scenario.  

7-3 finish.  No B12 championship game.  Back into a good bowl and beat some overrated top 10 pac12 or ACC team.  Finish at no 10 in the final polls.  Close on a top 15 recruiting class.  Keep Tom Herman.   

Mediocrity cycle continues with no changes.  

Don’t shoot the messenger.   

[Dbeasy 15048]

9 minutes ago, Knighthawk said:

Don’t shoot the messenger.   

nope. Tom is toast.

[Happy Gilmore 1001]

14 minutes ago, Knighthawk said:

Don’t shoot the messenger.   

I won't only shoot the messenger, I'll fill him full of holes. Don't ever bring that shit up again. He's done. 

[vtaenz 601]

Yeah he’s done and it’s fucking ridiculous he wasn’t fired last Saturday or Sunday. I have major issues with the way CDC and Hartzell have handled this. Even if we announce we have hired UM Monday, fire Herman and install Ash as interim, we’ve already fucked this up. It amazes me the stupidity of our “way”. 

Because if you fire him and Meyer says no you just spent a shit ton of money on a buyout and now every coach you interview has way more fucking leverage in negotiations.

[immamac 42843]

This thread is funny. Dead man walking. 

[vtaenz 601]

Weak argument. Everyone knows he’s gone anyway. Except for impressionable recruits. We should’ve fired him 6 days ago. We should’ve fired him after OU. 

Where does that buyout money come from? That buyout had strings attached by the people fronting that money. That buyout money isn't there to ditch Herman to hire James fucking Franklin.

[USNALonghorn 5078]

If KSU comes back to within one score, can him on the field.

[satyanash 14482]

 

[SwanderedTalent 5761]

this is really how I expected us to look four years ago against Maryland

so much wasted time

[perfectchaos007 6636]

I'm going to come after anyone saying "He's righting the ship!!!!!"

 

 

[Knighthawk 284]

2 hours ago, vtaenz said:

2 hours ago, Dr. Beeper said:

Weak argument. Everyone knows he’s gone anyway. Except for impressionable recruits. We should’ve fired him 6 days ago. We should’ve fired him after OU. 

Where does that buyout money come from? That buyout had strings attached by the people fronting that money. That buyout money isn't there to ditch Herman to hire James fucking Franklin.

Exactly.  Buyout money is conditional on hiring UM.

 I thought my post earlier was the most probable scenario (backdoor top 10 finish with an 8-3 record and stay with Herman).  But UM seems like he’s just itching to get back in the game - the fox pre game show today was telling.  

[927 E. 41st 1124]

30 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

I'm going to come after anyone saying "He's righting the ship!!!!!"

 

 

I don't think you have to worry, I don't think meth-heads watch football.

[Bevo14 8310]

1 minute ago, 927 E. 41st said:

I don't think you have to worry, I don't think meth-heads watch football.

Do you even OU bro?

[runthebone 7981]

33 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

I'm going to come after anyone saying "He's righting the ship!!!!!"

 

 

The ship is level just at the moment it hits the ocean floor.

[927 E. 41st 1124]

1 minute ago, Bevo14 said:

Do you even OU bro?

Good point, I try not to think about them on a normal day!

[Longboard Horn 40317]

44 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

I'm going to come after anyone saying "He's righting the ship!!!!!"

 

 

He righting the ship straight into the cliff of rocks with damage to the hull. 

[victory88 5663]

They need to fire him and lock up Urban.  If he has agreed, you don't give him another week to sit around and think about it and let this thing fall through for whatever reason.  They should have fucking fired him after the ISU loss.  This athletic department has a history of fucking things up with and without CDC.  Fire him and lock him up now if he has agreed.  

[Stunns38 3460]

Herman actually looks humbled in this presser, maybe it’ll help him Improve when he gets the Vandy job.

[Bevo14 8310]

14 minutes ago, 927 E. 41st said:

Good point, I try not to think about them on a normal day!

fair enough

[Tex-19 2872]

3 minutes ago, victory88 said:

They need to fire him and lock up Urban.  If he has agreed, you don't give him another week to sit around and think about it and let this thing fall through for whatever reason.  They should have fucking fired him after the ISU loss.  This athletic department has a history of fucking things up with and without CDC.  Fire him and lock him up now if he has agreed.  

Very true. Time kills deals. 

[USNALonghorn 5078]

Twelve more fucking pages!! Let's go.

[USNALonghorn 5078]

1 minute ago, BurntEyes said:

Just let it happen.

Texas made a superstitious man of me.

[TexMexBuddha 987]

Now we sit back and see if CDC is the GOAT that I think he is.

In the end, it was never about us anyway.

[victory88 5663]

7 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

Not big ones. 

Gotta true up all the details on the massive deals. Dot the Is and cross the Ts. 

Take a deep breath, this is happening.

You really want him spending next weekend with all the Ohio state administration at the UM games telling him not to take this job?

[Gigglebush 107]

1 hour ago, perfectchaos007 said:

I'm going to come after anyone saying "He's righting the ship!!!!!"

 

 

I wouldn't say that but I do think that besides Urban, every other name being tossed around as a replacement is a downgrade.

[clapclapclap 9000]

Some say he's writing the ship

Edited December 5, 2020 by clapclapclap
Sternly worded letter after the leg lamp arrived broken

[TexMexBuddha 987]

Wait.. what do you mean?
A bunch of random ass posters on Surly are not what this is all about? We aren't actually calling the shots?
I don't believe you.gif

Ha.. yeah that is the last stanza of a quote CDC has in his office from his dad. He is a man in full and is driven by his own purpose. It was meant generally and not about Surly.

[USNALonghorn 5078]

22 minutes ago, TexMexBuddha said:

Now we sit back and see if CDC is the GOAT that I think he is.

In the end, it was never about us anyway.

Fuck that. We're the center of the universe. Just ask the Meltdown webpage.