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

[Js1 85109]

56 minutes ago, ATLLonghorn said:

We're already Bowl eligible since there won't be win requirements this year!

I was gonna say.  We are making a bowl by virtue of playing.  

Texas Bowl it is.  

[SwanderedTalent 5761]

16 minutes ago, 927 E. 41st said:

The I ain't gonna buy tickets and gas up the airplane to go it see it bowl!

If we don't get into that one then we drop down to the I'm not gonna bother to watch it on TV bowl (we get into that one if Herman is still the coach)

The Cotton Bowl is an NY6 bowl, so no chance there; the Alamo is in the next tier so likewise no chance. The Sun Bowl is locked into the ACC and Pac-12 and the Armed Forces and Frisco bowls both have non-B12 tie-ins so they're out.

that leaves the Texas Bowl and the First Responders Bowl

I can't wait to see how our team shows up for either of those games. They're so full of Texas pride, you just know they'll give a good account of themselves. 

[NoName 16296]

4 minutes ago, Viper said:

 

 

full text below

(Eric Nahlin) Inside Scoop: Tom Herman, CDC, Hartzell, BOR, Cigars

Spoiler

 

Of course we weren’t going to get out of 2020 without significant coaching intrigue. Silly me for thinking otherwise. To better understand where we’re going, let’s take a look at the immediate landscape. After I present the road conditions, I think you’ll understand who the most capable driver is to help the school steer out of the skid. Right now I’m seeing three potential outcomes with varying degrees of likelihood: Tom Herman wins out and saves his job; there is a protracted coaching search; there is a swift, peaceful transition of power.

Let me follow that up with: Herman isn’t winning out; a protracted search, one that extends well into December, has the potential to decimate the roster and recruiting; a peaceful transition of power is ideal for improving the program’s short-term prospects.

Tom Herman: In case you couldn’t tell, Tom Herman is in very hot water. His seat began to warm last year but Chris Del Conte decided to support Herman revitalizing the coaching staff. After a 2-2 start that should be 1-3, Herman has very little chance of saving his tenure. The 25% chance I gave him of keeping his job on Saturday was generous as I worked to find out more. After further discussions I give him much less of a chance. Read between the lines.

It’s hard to find any source of support for Herman at this point. He’s made life tougher for the administration and he’s ticked off the boosters. The problem isn’t so much the record, but also the total lack of team discipline.

I’m going to delete any comments that delve into the political, but to paint a clear picture I have to dance around the third rail a bit. Some of Herman’s quotes over the summer ticked people off. “Who is Tom Herman to lecture me” is a common sentiment. Many blame him for how The Eyes of Texas situation was handled. He was seen as putting the school in a difficult position to deal with it head on. That doesn’t absolve Del Conte, they’re pissed at him too, but Herman entered the season with short leash.

Pride goeth before the fall, and also during the Fall. Herman’s inability to get out of his own way makes football almost worthless to discuss right now. If you were on the fence of whether or not he was meddling too much in the offense, I’m guessing Saturday was clarifying. It’s same old Tom, and same old Tom nearly lost the team in 2017 and again in 2019. This is by far the worst things have been behind the scenes.

Further decimating any leverage Herman might have: his 2021 recruiting class looks transitiony. Given this class is already laboring, do you want this to be the transition class, or the loaded one with the five-star generational quarterback committed? This is easy math.

Chris Del Conte: Where it’s all bad with Herman, it’s a mixed bag with the Athletic Director. Let’s first start with the bad.

The extension to Herman is often cited as his biggest mistake but Del Conte’s inability to foster definitive resolution with player unrest (so much easier said than done) has more people rankled than the extension. Like betting on Herman the first time, the early extension was a calculated bet that didn’t hit. Del Conte had support for it, and it may not have even been his idea in the first place. If it wasn’t, falling on the sword is still his job, but it might restore a little more faith in him. At the time of the extension, it was seen as a long-term money saving play. It’s considered bad business but not an anchor around Del Conte’s neck.

The intertwining of pandemic and politics is terrible timing for Del Conte because it gives boosters much more leverage. Especially when you consider all the ongoing capital projects. Many are demanding he find a solution to The Eyes and general player discord. With a weak figure at head coach that’s incredibly difficult to do. Dare I say, it’s impossible to do.

Del Conte is the one on the hook for fixing this long term. From what I can gather, he still has way more allies than obstacles, and he has the confidence of the president and BOR, but he definitely has a clear fundraising problem. Anecdotes have made their way to the forums here, but it’s even worse than what’s being let on from a financial standpoint at a time where the school took a giant haircut due to the pandemic.

I much prefer to discuss the good of Del Conte. He employs the Frank Windegger approach (old TCU AD) where good football improves the overall college experience on the surface, thus boosting enrollment and all that comes with it. Despite some of you getting into UT, it was even correlated to attracting better students as measured by GPA/SAT. Bad football is bad for the overall brand.

In the end it boils down to improving finances, and we know Texas loves its finances, but in theory this is a good thing for football fans who want to see coaches held accountable to a winning standard.

Del Conte is very proactive in situations like these. I’m sure he has books written on PJ Fleck, Matt Campbell, and a few others, but he’s also the sort to be very aggressive and aim high. If there’s a coach out there with a big enough personality to help the program overcome its current woes, that will help that coach’s case immensely. Del Conte needs help on that front. He needs a coach who can return the transactional nature of big time football to the program. It’s amazing how trivial standing with your teammates for a song after a game seems if you’re winning and developing into a millionaire.

CDC/Hartzell/BOR: It’s certainly a positive sign that I can roll these three actors into the same section. While there’s plenty of volatility in the Texas ecosystem, these three central figures are on the same page, with Del Conte having the support of Jay Hartzell and the Board. If we learned anything from the time Texas had the greatest coach of all time gifted to it (the only gift the school ever turned down) only to have it scuttled internally, it’s important to know the pulse of the president, AD, and Board of Regents.

The RRS is an annual opportunity for the decision makers and key boosters to meet and greet. To use an old and familiar phrase, it’s a good time to ensure the BBs are in the box. The biggest immediate issue for this group is two-fold: 1) decide Herman’s fate, or, rather, allow him to continue to do it himself, and, 2) if Herman is to be removed, find a way to pay for the buyout.

If you’re reading between the lines, barring a major turn of events, #1 is mostly decided, and the only way that can happen is if the decision makers have a good handle on #2. I think they have a good handle on #2. While expectations for the season and Herman were high, this group has not been caught flat-footed and they didn’t just start having real talks in the last couple days.

In years past we’ve mentioned, regardless of sport, to not expect a midseason firing. This year isn’t like years past and that outcome is within the realm of possibility. Recruiting is different now, and the Portal also has to be accounted for.

The Boosters: Given the financial climate, this group has more leverage than I can recall. Their finances are green while the school‘s are red. With the big cigars largely sitting on its collective pocketbook, Del Conte is getting to a point where he can’t afford to not make a move, especially since the boosters would foot the bill for it. Whichever group covers that $20+ million will want a say in the ultimate hire. That’s a good thing, if and only if, Texas makes the most obvious call.

If Herman is removed and a real search takes place, Del Conte will have to mollify this group while seeking out more useful input elsewhere. No offense to that group, but that’s how a sound search derails in a hurry. Depending on how this all shakes out, the boosters will either be heroes or goats, but it isn’t fair to lump them all together. Some well known guys are on the sidelines (the old Nick Saban group) while some lesser known figures have assumed integral roles.

This group is like many of you but with more money. They’re incredibly frustrated and just want to win. Some are saying I’m older than ETex, bring me a winner.

#####

Bring me a winner is a common sentiment. There’s been a sea change within wide swaths of the fan base. Many are finding it more palatable to hire a controversial figure. That feeling extends to the boosters. That feeling extends beyond. If you think boosters have leverage right now, think how much a high level candidate would have given the factors outlined. One thing is for sure: The program is in a precarious position and needs a strong centralizing figure to emerge before the BBs start spilling everywhere.

It’ll cost a lot to get it right, it’ll cost more to get it wrong.

 

 

[Chuckie Finster 22600]

The only answer is Urban.  We've tried the "up and coming" defensive disciplinarian.  We've tried the "up and coming" offensive hotshot with local ties.  Now it's time to act like we are the University of Texas.  If Urban says no, make a better offer and ask again.  There's no excuse for not being able to pull a guy away from doing pregame shows to coach this team.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Chuckie Finster

[Burt Macklin 18998]

Just now, Chuckie Finster said:

The only answer is Urban.  We've tried the "up and coming" defensive disciplinarian.  We've tried the "up and coming" offensive hotshot with local ties.  Now it's time to act like we are the University of Texas.  If Urban says no, make a better offer and ask again.  There's no excuses for not being able to pull a guy away from doing pregame shows to coach this team.

This is the thing, though. It’s not about whether Texas could pull him away. There are two determinative factors: 1) will the UT Admin allow it and 2) is Urban willing to coach again with his health issues? 
 

I think the answer to #2 is pretty likely yes. The only thing Urban knows is football and he’s ultra competitive. I don’t think working as a TV analyst keeps him happy for very long. But #1 is the biggest impediment, though it seems to be trending more towards a yes as time goes on due to Herman being an abject failure and a total piece of shit. His terrible coaching job and having a demeanor universally hated by just about everyone actually really seems to softening UT up towards being ok with Meyer. 
 

But this isn’t nearly as simple as CDC just needing to offer enough to Meyer. If it doesn’t happen, I highly doubt the reason will be that CDC decided someone else was a better option or Urban didn’t think the Texas job was good enough/we didn’t offer enough money. 

[Js1 85109]

Quote

Some of Herman’s quotes over the summer ticked people off. “Who is Tom Herman to lecture me” is a common sentiment.

It's like nobody did their homework on Tom.  This is who he was at UH.  Many of us knew this. 

[BurntOrange&White 39655]

^ big 📠 

[LTtxfan 48970]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

here it is     How Billy Napier found his purpose and became college coaching’s next big thing

  Hide contents

How Billy Napier found his purpose and became college coaching’s next big thing

Chris Vannini Oct 12, 2020 29

Billy Napier sat in the parking lot of South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in his beat-up blue Honda Accord. He still drove an early ’90s model, but even in 2006, it did the job.

On a chilly February day, Napier felt comfortable. Coming off his first season as quarterbacks coach, South Carolina State promoted him to offensive coordinator at just 26 years old. He’d taken the job in Orangeburg in part to be closer to his college girlfriend, Ali, but he had a knack for coaching quarterbacks. In his first year, his QB set the school record for completions in a season.

Sitting in his old car, Napier’s phone rang with a call from Brad Scott, Clemson’s offensive line coach. Napier had been a Clemson graduate assistant a few years prior, and Scott told Napier to expect to hear from Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden offering him a job coaching tight ends. He’d be one of the youngest full-time assistant coaches at the FBS level.

“It felt like it was a prank, maybe,” Napier says in his Georgia accent. “’Is this really happening?’”

It was happening, and it didn’t surprise his boss.

“Very soon, I think he’ll probably rise up the ladder,” South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough told The Times and Democrat at the time. “You’re looking at a rising star.”

Bowden knew it, too. He prioritized getting Napier back on his Clemson staff.

Now, more than a decade later, what Bowden saw then has come to fruition.

“I had the same feeling about Billy as I did Dabo (Swinney),” Bowden says. “They have the intangibles.”

As a first-time head coach in his third season, Napier has taken the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns to unprecedented heights. Last year’s 11-3 record broke the school record for wins. This year’s opening win at Iowa State was UL’s first road win against a ranked team, and the Cajuns are ranked for the first time since 1943.

People close to Napier aren’t surprised. To them, this is where he was always supposed to be. The son of a legendary high school coach became a coaching prodigy himself.

“I saw them play one time last year,” Bowden says. “I called him after and I said, ‘Man, alive. You’re making this thing look easy.’”

But it took getting knocked down, both professionally and through personal loss, to get Napier to this point, at 41 years old, where he’s becoming one of college football’s most sought-after head coaches.

---

Less than three years after Napier rejoined Clemson in 2006, the Tigers promoted Swinney to head coach. Napier became offensive coordinator at just 29 years old, making him the youngest coordinator in the FBS. In his first year in 2009, the offense improved and Clemson went 9-5.

But the Tigers stumbled to 6-7 the following year. Their scoring dropped, and Swinney made a change, firing Napier. It rocked him.

“After the second season, I just, schematically, wanted to go in a different direction and just really needed the spot,” Swinney says. “Billy did an amazing job. We’ve always stayed in touch. We’re still friends to this day.”

Napier can say now that Swinney made the right decision. At the time, he didn’t believe it. For the first time in his football life, he faced a setback,

“I probably didn’t quite understand my purpose,” Napier says. “I was a little arrogant. I was a little bit out of control. I probably was a little bit too aggressive, whatever the case may be. …  But it made me better because I had to regroup. I needed a big piece of humble pie.”

He needed to think about home.

As far back as Napier can remember, he wanted to be a coach. Same with his younger brothers, who are both high school coaches now. Their father, Bill, was a longtime high school coach in rural Chatsworth, Ga., leading Murray County High School for 25 years.

The school bus would drop off the Napier kids at the fieldhouse where Bill coached. In middle school, Billy walked there. Long before Billy played for his father, before he started his own career, he understood the life. The Napier boys loved to watch coaches film of Nebraska option football with their father.

“I lived in the back of a pickup truck,” Billy says. “I lived in the fieldhouse and equipment room and on buses traveling all over the place to camps. I loved it, man. I was eaten up with it. From an early age, I knew I wanted to do what my dad did, be a high school football coach.”

When Murray County lost 21-20 to Carrollton in the Georgia high school playoffs in 1991, an 11-year-old Napier cried his eyes out.

“I felt like I was a part of the team,” he says.

When Napier did start playing, his father wouldn’t let him play flag football. Bill Napier told his son football was meant to be played in shoulder pads and a helmet. So he didn’t fully get started on a team until a year before middle school.

He mostly wanted to become good enough to play for his dad. He did just that, becoming Murray County’s starting quarterback as a junior and a senior.

“My dad was really hard on me,” Napier says. “He was very tough. Maybe I didn’t quite understand that when I was in the middle of it, but I was better because of it.”

 

Billy Napier played for his father at Murray County High School. (Courtesy of Billy Napier)

Napier’s play attracted college interest, and he chose Furman, where his dad took a group of players to their four- or five-day camp each summer. As he did in high school, Napier won the starting quarterback job as a junior, leading the Paladins to the 2001 FCS national championship game. Furman lost 13-6 to Montana. Just like the Murray County playoff loss a decade prior, it still hurts.

“I can remember every play in that game,” he says.

A two-time all-conference player, Napier turned his eye to coaching. He sent 300 letters looking for a graduate assistant job so he could get his master’s degree paid for, but he got no bites. A high school in South Carolina offered him an offensive coordinator job that he prepared to take. But a few days before he planned to head there, a graduate assistant job opened at Clemson. Tigers assistant Rick Stockstill knew Bill Napier and got his son an interview.

It gave Billy Napier his first chance in college ball, just as he’d been rethinking his plan to be a high school coach. In 2000, Murray County reached the state quarterfinals. It was probably Bill Napier’s best team, with several Division I players. But Murray County faced a Shaw team filled with SEC commits, and Shaw won 33-6.

“I’d watched my dad for all those years work hard every year, pour his heart and soul into it, and then just run into a buzzsaw like that where the other team has just got unbelievable talent,” Napier says. “At the same time as that, I was observing the recruiting in college football at Clemson, and I was fascinated with the fact that, in this college deal, you get to outwork people and recruit and evaluate and pick your own team. In high school ball, I just watched my dad over the years: You’ve got what you got.”

Pick your own team. That was a green light for Napier as his college coaching career got underway, and his ability to recruit quickly became evident. Clemson gave him recruiting coordinator duties when he returned in 2006, and he went to work. He played an integral role in signing five-star quarterback Tajh Boyd in 2009.

“He’s a tenacious recruiter,” Bowden says. “He’s like a pit bull. He gets his teeth in one and he don’t let go.”

When Clemson promoted Napier to offensive coordinator, assistant Jeff Scott (Brad’s son) became recruiting coordinator. Scott developed into one of the top recruiting assistants over the next decade at Clemson. Now the head coach at USF, Scott credits those early years with Napier.

“I just remember late nights, long hours of the office, where we just sat up there talking about recruiting and different strategies and different things that we could do,” Scott says.

But Napier’s self-described arrogance came out from time to time.

As a young coach at Clemson, Napier rose so quickly that others had to make sure he didn’t get out over his skis. Bowden remembers Napier trying to call out plays as a position coach in games, offering all kinds of suggestions. Or coming in on a Sunday morning proclaiming that they’d manhandle the next opponent.

“I’d be on vacation in summer and I’d get a call from the AD about Billy not going to his compliance courses,” Bowden says with a laugh. “He’s a very aggressive recruiter. If the speed limit is 70, I’m going to go 79, and a policeman will give you that. If the speed limit’s 25, Billy would go 34. I’d get a call that Billy hadn’t gone to compliance class again, so I’d call him to get to that class.”

His rise came to a screeching halt when Swinney fired him. Everything had gone according to plan, until it didn’t. Napier had to realize there was a lot he didn’t know yet as a college coach. He had to take a step back.

In his early 30s, Napier held a coordinator job at Clemson that would make most coaches envious. Moving forward, he could take a position coach job if he wanted. But he spoke with Nick Saban, and the idea of an off-field coaching job with Alabama intrigued him. One year removed from a national championship in 2009, it was obvious what Saban was building.

By then, Napier and Ali had gotten married. He told her if this was his first job in college football, he would be ecstatic about it. That was the approach. These days, a former head coach or coordinator taking an analyst job for Saban happens every year. At the time, Napier’s move was unique. He went to coaching school.

“I probably learned more in that 2011 season than I’d learned in the 10 prior to that,” Napier says. “It shaped the things we believe in and the processes that we use now.”

Napier followed Jim McElwain to Colorado State in 2012, before returning to Alabama a year later as wide receivers coach. The recruiting pickups continued with five-star players like offensive tackle Cam Robinson and wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Jerry Jeudy. Napier developed several NFL Draft picks at receiver, including Ridley, Kevin Norwood, Amari Cooper and Ardarius Stewart.

“You just always knew Billy was going to be successful,” says Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, the former Alabama defensive coordinator. “No matter what he did, he’s got a lot of energy. He’s not afraid to think outside the box.”

At Alabama, Napier contributed to multiple national championships. He defeated his friends at Clemson in one title game and lost a title to them in another. By 2017, he wanted a bigger role. He wanted to be a coordinator again and to call plays.

He joined Todd Graham at Arizona State, a partnership secured in a Dallas-Fort Worth airport hotel room in the job interview. Graham later said Napier was “pissed” he was passed over for the Alabama offensive coordinator job when Lane Kiffin left, which initially went to Steve Sarkisian.

In Tempe, Napier had an offense of his own again. But something else weighed on him.

---

In 2013, Napier’s first year as an Alabama assistant, doctors diagnosed Bill Napier with ALS, a nervous system disease that affects the brain and has a life expectancy of two to five years after diagnosis.

Billy says now he wasn’t a good coach for the Crimson Tide that year. The invincible man Billy had always looked up to was suddenly vulnerable. Initially, Billy stayed positive, looking for any treatment they could find. His father would compete and win, like he always had. But every attempt to find a fix fell short.

“I struggled throughout that entire year coming to grips with the fact that my dad was getting ready to go through a horrific couple years,” Napier says.

Bill could see it in his son.

“I remember my dad having a tough conversation with me,” Napier says. “He said, ‘Look, we’re not going to complain, we’re going to try to make a difference. We’re going to try to make an impact through this.’”

 

Bill Napier died in 2017 after battling ALS. (Courtesy of Billy Napier)

Bill kept coaching as long as he could, even calling plays from a wheelchair for Dalton High School in Georgia until he couldn’t speak. He began texting Bible verses to more than 400 people every day.

In 2015, the community held a banquet to honor Bill and raise money to offset medical costs. A tribute video included well-wishes from Saban, Swinney, Vince Dooley, Mack Brown, Peyton Manning and others. Bill instead took some of that money to create scholarships for players at high schools where he’d coached.

Bill died on Sept. 26, 2017, at 60 years old. The first line of his obituary noted that Bill “took his place on the coaching staff of Heaven’s team.” A coach to the very end.

His death came on a Tuesday, three days after Arizona State beat Oregon and one week before the Sun Devils had an idle week, when Napier had hoped to go home and see his dad again.

The funeral was on a Friday. Napier flew from Georgia to California to coach in Arizona State’s game against Stanford on Saturday.

“I gave him a big ol’ hug. Heck, I cried more than he did,” says Louisiana offensive coordinator Rob Sale, then an Arizona State assistant. “(Napier) said, ‘Hey, man, it’s OK. He’s in a better place.’”

Later that season, Arizona State debuted a “Ram” formation with seven offensive linemen and a fullback. It was a short-yardage package from the old Nebraska tapes that Napier and his father used to watch.

A few months later, Napier landed his first head coaching job at Louisiana, and he brought Sale with him, along with lessons from his father. Bill Napier was always teaching, always coaching. Through his battle with ALS, he delivered his greatest lesson to his son.

“I always say now that football is a game about people, strategy and competition, and you’ve always got to keep people at the top of that list,” Napier says. “I think when I was young, I would get consumed with the strategy or the competition, and that people part would slip to second or third on that list.

“The big thing for me going forward was, I had a clear purpose. I had an understanding of why I was coaching.”

---

Bryan Maggard expected his phone call with Billy Napier to last for 15-20 minutes. In December 2017, his first year as Louisiana’s athletic director, Maggard attended the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame event in New York City. He needed a head coach, and Napier expressed interest.

Maggard sat at a lobby bar, expecting a quick introduction over the phone. They talked for more than an hour. Maggard didn’t know much about Napier. Now he saw the ideal candidate.

“I was hoping to find a process coach,” Maggard says. “Certainly coming from Alabama, you know he had that. He was just so easy to talk to. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘OK, as a recruit or a parent, this guy would be really, really easy to listen to and visit with and trust your son with.’ … He was somebody who had a plan. We didn’t get into great detail in that first phone call about the running of a program, but there was enough dialogue there that you could tell that this guy, he’s got a plan, he would have a process. And you could just tell by communicating with him, he’s gonna be very genuine as a relationship-builder.”

Hiring Napier brought him back to a familiar state.

He recruited Louisiana for Alabama, and he admits he sometimes didn’t wear his Alabama apparel in public in LSU territory on those recruiting trips. No need to draw too much attention, right? Always thinking about every detail in recruiting.

“When you’re going into enemy territory and competing against the hometown team, that requires a lot of different approaches,” he says.

No longer in enemy territory, Napier inherited a Louisiana program that had reached one bowl in the previous three years. Maggard expected Napier to build Louisiana back into a winner, but he didn’t expect it so quickly. The Ragin’ Cajuns went 7-7 but won the Sun Belt West division in 2018. The breakthrough came next with a school-record 11 wins in 2019. Napier has continued his recruiting success, signing the No. 1 class in the Sun Belt in each of the past two years.

“He’s done a phenomenal job with the program there,” Saban says. “It’s no surprise to me.”

Napier still coaches the quarterbacks, even as the head coach, leading the meetings and working directly with that position. It’s paid off. In 2019, junior Levi Lewis threw for more than 3,000 yards in his first season as the starter, with 26 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Lewis tries to play by a saying Napier always tells him.

“Take what they give you, and eventually they’ll give you the game,” Lewis says.

 

Napier and QB Levi Lewis have Louisiana ranked for the first time in 77 years. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

The Cajuns have won 14 of their past 17 games under Napier. Their 3-0 record this year includes a win at nationally ranked Iowa State, a 14-point comeback overtime win at Georgia State and a last-second field goal win against Georgia Southern.

When Louisiana upset Iowa State, Napier told the ESPN broadcast, “I hope my man D.J.’s up there smiling.”

It was a reminder that this success hasn’t been nothing but highs. It was a reminder of the pain the Cajuns have carried.

On Aug. 1, assistant offensive line coach D.J. Looney suffered a heart attack at practice and died. The news rocked the coaching profession. The gregarious Looney was beloved by everyone. Napier says he was integral to the fabric of the organization, a part of the group since Napier’s first staff at UL. On top of the nation’s battle with the COVID-19 pandemic and the struggle for social justice, the Cajuns’ hearts hurt for the loss of a coach.

The team put up a banner in the indoor facility where the incident happened. It reads “5 = 1,” one of the Looney-isms for five offensive linemen as one unit. At a memorial for Looney, his mother told the players to get up off the ground and dust themselves off, something she always told her son. The team plans to honor him when it travels to his hometown of Birmingham to play UAB on Oct. 23.

Just like when his father died, football and coaching became a therapeutic outlet for Napier.

“We benefited from transitioning right into training camp because we were around each other, we were able to have conversations,” Napier says. “When we were having tough days, we had people to lean on.”

It’s often pointed out that Napier coached under both Saban and Swinney, two of the greatest college football coaches of the era. He was once the youngest coordinator in FBS. The subsequent success all looks preordained on a résumé. But it was anything but that.

“He takes a lot from the Alabama blueprint, but he doesn’t try to be Nick Saban,” Sale says. “He tries to be Billy Napier.”

There are lessons from Saban and Swinney. But also from Tommy Bowden. From Jim McElwain. From D.J. Looney. From Bill Napier.

The days of riding in the pickup truck to the fieldhouse won’t ever leave Napier. Neither will the days of watching old Nebraska tape. He’ll always be a coach’s kid. He’ll garner interest for Power 5 jobs in the not-too-distant future, as he did in the last cycle from places like Mississippi State, but he’s learned over the years to focus on where his feet are and where they’ve been. He knows how quickly things can change.

Napier likes to say he can’t believe he gets paid to do this job. Being a football coach is all he’s ever wanted to do. That path started early, but it took getting knocked down to shape who he became. It took getting fired at Clemson to humble him. His father’s illness changed his approach to relationships and taught him to adjust to unexpected hurdles.

That’s the job of a coach, after all.

“Dad’s teams, he always got a little more out of them than he was supposed to,” Napier says. “Take what you’ve got and get a lot out of it.”

 

 

Great article on Napier..... THANKS @NoName  

Interesting background working for both DABO and SABAN

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by LTtxfan

[927 E. 41st 1124]

12 minutes ago, NoName said:

It’ll cost a lot to get it right, it’ll cost more to get it wrong.

I believe this is the ultimate truth.

I also believe the BB's are already hitting the floor.

[trythisathome 971]

10 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

This is the thing, though. It’s not about whether Texas could pull him away. There are two determinative factors: 1) will the UT Admin allow it and 2) is Urban willing to coach again with his health issues? 
 

I think the answer to #2 is pretty likely yes. The only thing Urban knows is football and he’s ultra competitive. I don’t think working as a TV analyst keeps him happy for very long. But #1 is the biggest impediment, though it seems to be trending more towards a yes as time goes on due to Herman being an abject failure and a total piece of shit. His terrible coaching job and having a demeanor universally hated by just about everyone actually really seems to softening UT up towards being ok with Meyer. 
 

But this isn’t nearly as simple as CDC just needing to offer enough to Meyer. If it doesn’t happen, I highly doubt the reason will be that CDC decided someone else was a better option or Urban didn’t think the Texas job was good enough/we didn’t offer enough money. 

With respect to #1, I think having Hartzell in office instead of Fenves could do us some favors there. I don't think Fenves would be as willing to play ball, but Jay might. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 hour ago, Jack Wilson said:

You're familiar with the old pot-and-kettle metaphor, I assume?

First time on the internet, Jack?

[Chuckie Finster 22600]

14 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

This is the thing, though. It’s not about whether Texas could pull him away. There are two determinative factors: 1) will the UT Admin allow it and 2) is Urban willing to coach again with his health issues? 
 

I think the answer to #2 is pretty likely yes. The only thing Urban knows is football and he’s ultra competitive. I don’t think working as a TV analyst keeps him happy for very long. But #1 is the biggest impediment, though it seems to be trending more towards a yes as time goes on due to Herman being an abject failure and a total piece of shit. His terrible coaching job and having a demeanor universally hated by just about everyone actually really seems to softening UT up towards being ok with Meyer. 
 

But this isn’t nearly as simple as CDC just needing to offer enough to Meyer. If it doesn’t happen, I highly doubt the reason will be that CDC decided someone else was a better option or Urban didn’t think the Texas job was good enough/we didn’t offer enough money. 

I understand that I'm preaching to the choir to people on this site, but the UT Admin needs to understand the big picture importance of a good football team.  I was on campus for the Colt McCoy years.  I still watch every game, try to make trips back to campus, own burnt orange gear, etc.  My equally sports-loving brother was there during Charlie's years.  He was much more involved on campus during his time there, but has completely distanced himself from the school since graduation.  Not out of spite, but because he just doesn't feel the connection through sports that I had.  Shockingly, it didn't matter that the coach did things "the right way."

This isn't just about wins and losses or even present day money from big boosters. They are losing an entire generation of alumni.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Chuckie Finster

[Jersey Man10 3508]

Why is this fucker still in Austin?

[Not a cat 5619]

Watching the Clemson game this weekend I was struck with how Dabo immediately took the blame for the decision to try the long field goal right before half.  No "well he makes those in practice", or "he just didnt get it high enough" or any other throwing players or assistants under the bus.  Just a simple "I screwed up, we shouldn't have kicked that.  It was dumb."

Now how do you think turtle would have handled that interview?  Playing for that fuckface has got to be such a beating.

[jinx 2635]

11 hours ago, Bobby_Batronic said:

Harsin’s record is pretty much identical to Peterson’s last few years in Boise. Basically, Peterson wasn’t matching Peterson’s magical few years by the time he headed to Seattle. 

Harsin has won 64 games in 6 years including 3 conference championships while playing in two others and one Fiesta Bowl. 

We could do worse, but shit is seriously pear shaped in our coaching search if we get to him on the Rolodex. 

A lot more crooked numbers on the right side for Harsin than Peterson.  That may be from a number of factors, but was the origin of my comment.  I would hope for the best if we got Harsin, and I like him in general.  But I would be waiting for the conference championships to happen here before I was optimistic.

[Hiphopopotamos 20865]

25 minutes ago, NoName said:

full text below

(Eric Nahlin) Inside Scoop: Tom Herman, CDC, Hartzell, BOR, Cigars

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Of course we weren’t going to get out of 2020 without significant coaching intrigue. Silly me for thinking otherwise. To better understand where we’re going, let’s take a look at the immediate landscape. After I present the road conditions, I think you’ll understand who the most capable driver is to help the school steer out of the skid. Right now I’m seeing three potential outcomes with varying degrees of likelihood: Tom Herman wins out and saves his job; there is a protracted coaching search; there is a swift, peaceful transition of power.

Let me follow that up with: Herman isn’t winning out; a protracted search, one that extends well into December, has the potential to decimate the roster and recruiting; a peaceful transition of power is ideal for improving the program’s short-term prospects.

Tom Herman: In case you couldn’t tell, Tom Herman is in very hot water. His seat began to warm last year but Chris Del Conte decided to support Herman revitalizing the coaching staff. After a 2-2 start that should be 1-3, Herman has very little chance of saving his tenure. The 25% chance I gave him of keeping his job on Saturday was generous as I worked to find out more. After further discussions I give him much less of a chance. Read between the lines.

It’s hard to find any source of support for Herman at this point. He’s made life tougher for the administration and he’s ticked off the boosters. The problem isn’t so much the record, but also the total lack of team discipline.

I’m going to delete any comments that delve into the political, but to paint a clear picture I have to dance around the third rail a bit. Some of Herman’s quotes over the summer ticked people off. “Who is Tom Herman to lecture me” is a common sentiment. Many blame him for how The Eyes of Texas situation was handled. He was seen as putting the school in a difficult position to deal with it head on. That doesn’t absolve Del Conte, they’re pissed at him too, but Herman entered the season with short leash.

Pride goeth before the fall, and also during the Fall. Herman’s inability to get out of his own way makes football almost worthless to discuss right now. If you were on the fence of whether or not he was meddling too much in the offense, I’m guessing Saturday was clarifying. It’s same old Tom, and same old Tom nearly lost the team in 2017 and again in 2019. This is by far the worst things have been behind the scenes.

Further decimating any leverage Herman might have: his 2021 recruiting class looks transitiony. Given this class is already laboring, do you want this to be the transition class, or the loaded one with the five-star generational quarterback committed? This is easy math.

Chris Del Conte: Where it’s all bad with Herman, it’s a mixed bag with the Athletic Director. Let’s first start with the bad.

The extension to Herman is often cited as his biggest mistake but Del Conte’s inability to foster definitive resolution with player unrest (so much easier said than done) has more people rankled than the extension. Like betting on Herman the first time, the early extension was a calculated bet that didn’t hit. Del Conte had support for it, and it may not have even been his idea in the first place. If it wasn’t, falling on the sword is still his job, but it might restore a little more faith in him. At the time of the extension, it was seen as a long-term money saving play. It’s considered bad business but not an anchor around Del Conte’s neck.

The intertwining of pandemic and politics is terrible timing for Del Conte because it gives boosters much more leverage. Especially when you consider all the ongoing capital projects. Many are demanding he find a solution to The Eyes and general player discord. With a weak figure at head coach that’s incredibly difficult to do. Dare I say, it’s impossible to do.

Del Conte is the one on the hook for fixing this long term. From what I can gather, he still has way more allies than obstacles, and he has the confidence of the president and BOR, but he definitely has a clear fundraising problem. Anecdotes have made their way to the forums here, but it’s even worse than what’s being let on from a financial standpoint at a time where the school took a giant haircut due to the pandemic.

I much prefer to discuss the good of Del Conte. He employs the Frank Windegger approach (old TCU AD) where good football improves the overall college experience on the surface, thus boosting enrollment and all that comes with it. Despite some of you getting into UT, it was even correlated to attracting better students as measured by GPA/SAT. Bad football is bad for the overall brand.

In the end it boils down to improving finances, and we know Texas loves its finances, but in theory this is a good thing for football fans who want to see coaches held accountable to a winning standard.

Del Conte is very proactive in situations like these. I’m sure he has books written on PJ Fleck, Matt Campbell, and a few others, but he’s also the sort to be very aggressive and aim high. If there’s a coach out there with a big enough personality to help the program overcome its current woes, that will help that coach’s case immensely. Del Conte needs help on that front. He needs a coach who can return the transactional nature of big time football to the program. It’s amazing how trivial standing with your teammates for a song after a game seems if you’re winning and developing into a millionaire.

CDC/Hartzell/BOR: It’s certainly a positive sign that I can roll these three actors into the same section. While there’s plenty of volatility in the Texas ecosystem, these three central figures are on the same page, with Del Conte having the support of Jay Hartzell and the Board. If we learned anything from the time Texas had the greatest coach of all time gifted to it (the only gift the school ever turned down) only to have it scuttled internally, it’s important to know the pulse of the president, AD, and Board of Regents.

The RRS is an annual opportunity for the decision makers and key boosters to meet and greet. To use an old and familiar phrase, it’s a good time to ensure the BBs are in the box. The biggest immediate issue for this group is two-fold: 1) decide Herman’s fate, or, rather, allow him to continue to do it himself, and, 2) if Herman is to be removed, find a way to pay for the buyout.

If you’re reading between the lines, barring a major turn of events, #1 is mostly decided, and the only way that can happen is if the decision makers have a good handle on #2. I think they have a good handle on #2. While expectations for the season and Herman were high, this group has not been caught flat-footed and they didn’t just start having real talks in the last couple days.

In years past we’ve mentioned, regardless of sport, to not expect a midseason firing. This year isn’t like years past and that outcome is within the realm of possibility. Recruiting is different now, and the Portal also has to be accounted for.

The Boosters: Given the financial climate, this group has more leverage than I can recall. Their finances are green while the school‘s are red. With the big cigars largely sitting on its collective pocketbook, Del Conte is getting to a point where he can’t afford to not make a move, especially since the boosters would foot the bill for it. Whichever group covers that $20+ million will want a say in the ultimate hire. That’s a good thing, if and only if, Texas makes the most obvious call.

If Herman is removed and a real search takes place, Del Conte will have to mollify this group while seeking out more useful input elsewhere. No offense to that group, but that’s how a sound search derails in a hurry. Depending on how this all shakes out, the boosters will either be heroes or goats, but it isn’t fair to lump them all together. Some well known guys are on the sidelines (the old Nick Saban group) while some lesser known figures have assumed integral roles.

This group is like many of you but with more money. They’re incredibly frustrated and just want to win. Some are saying I’m older than ETex, bring me a winner.

#####

Bring me a winner is a common sentiment. There’s been a sea change within wide swaths of the fan base. Many are finding it more palatable to hire a controversial figure. That feeling extends to the boosters. That feeling extends beyond. If you think boosters have leverage right now, think how much a high level candidate would have given the factors outlined. One thing is for sure: The program is in a precarious position and needs a strong centralizing figure to emerge before the BBs start spilling everywhere.

It’ll cost a lot to get it right, it’ll cost more to get it wrong.

 

 

Really wish Tom's fate was already decided and not just dependent on 'the next loss'.  It is the longshot of all longshots that this team wins out - but Texas has already played both TCU and OUsux and weirder fucking things have happened.

So if this Texas team bumble-fucks themselves to an 8-2 record Tom is back?  Seems like a cop-out to claim that 'the next loss' will be the deciding factor.

[UTEX_ME 4754]

Does Tom try to burn what's left of the program down on the way out ? Start telling players to hit the portal? 

[Hiphopopotamos 20865]

Just now, UTEX_ME said:

Does Tom try to burn what's left of the program down on the way out ? Start telling players to hit the portal? 

Two things

1.  I don't think Tom has the same type of relationship with his players as Mack did.

2.  I don't think Tom will be around long enough after 'the next loss' to tell anyone anything.

[BurntOrange&White 39655]

Jeff Howe, I think is who is talking right now, is just going off on Herman right from everything from personnel on the field, decisions, discipline 

[Hiphopopotamos 20865]

3 minutes ago, jinx said:

A lot more crooked numbers on the right side for Harsin than Peterson.  That may be from a number of factors, but was the origin of my comment.  I would hope for the best if we got Harsin, and I like him in general.  But I would be waiting for the conference championships to happen here before I was optimistic.

Harsin has definitely not been as successful at Boise as Petersen was - and doesn't look like he's on Petersen's level as a coach.  Even if Harsin isn't on Petersen's level though, he is still a very talented coach and I think he could have real success here at Texas.  He wouldn't be learning on the job like Tom.

[closetohumping 17400]

4 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Jeff Howe, I think is who is talking right now, is just going off on Herman right from everything from personnel on the field, decisions, discipline 

is he from 24/7?

[jinx 2635]

6 hours ago, PilotsError said:

I guarantee the first wife stopped fucking or was using her pussy as a weapon. Doesn't matter how hot she is once that starts happening. Second wife gives me Martha from Homeland vibes. Which are vibes I like

Or he just decided he would rather his wife has a dick.  NTTIATWWT

[Lonestar4.8 68]

After reading Nahlin's article...I'll celebrate every remaining victory this season, but I'll go buck wild with the next loss.

[rungeflash 322]

The "next" loss?!?!!

This fucker is already 100% lost......get the fuck out NOW

[closetojumping 62239]

 

2 hours ago, victory88 said:

No to PJ Fleck.  I'd rather fucking have Matt Campbell who knows how to beat Lincoln Riley and has experience in the Big 12.  

With that said, neither Campbell or Fleck will be able to get this shit fixed.  It has to be Urban.  He's the only one that can come in and go toe toe with LSU, Bama, Clemson, tOSU, ou in the recruiting trail.  He's the only one that will be able to convince ELITE assistant coaches to come here.  Outside of Urban, you need to look at Mullen, Cristobal, and Malzahn.  Both understand how recruiting works and both have run upper level P5 programs for multiple successful seasons.  If neither of them wants to come, then fuck it... go for Herm Edwards.  I thought that guy was going to fucking fail flat on his face and he has ASU recruiting well and winning games.  

 

35 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

The only answer is Urban.  We've tried the "up and coming" defensive disciplinarian.  We've tried the "up and coming" offensive hotshot with local ties.  Now it's time to act like we are the University of Texas.  If Urban says no, make a better offer and ask again.  There's no excuse for not being able to pull a guy away from doing pregame shows to coach this team.

I don't want to bring you boys or anyone else down off of your highs, but I think you've got to look at Urban Meyer as a long shot right now. I have zero doubt there's potential for mutual interest. I just expect Texas to fuck it all up and have him throw his hands up and walk away, waiting for the shitshow to unfold at USC. 

As things sit now, Texas is already fucking everything up. They're letting Herman maintain "control" of the program when they know with certainty that he's not the guy going forward. "Don't lose another game" is an arbitrary edict when you fully expect him to do so and know that you'll have to then do something anyway. This guy is a cancer and he should have already been shitcanned. Every day that goes by with him at the helm digs the hole deeper for the next guy. 

Unlike many, I guess, here, I'd take Matt Campbell as a consolation prize. I love the recruiting board and I've religiously followed college recruiting since childhood, but Herman and Strong have fully disavowed me of the belief that acquiring enough talent can overcome significant coaching deficiencies. At least with Campbell, we will see players getting developed while watching teams appearing well-coached versus their opponents. Can he win a national title? I don't know. Is he far better than most of the alternatives, I think so.

[Viper 12028]

6 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

is he from 24/7?

yes. he's the overweight writer at Texas 247 that doesn't know that much about football.

[BurntOrange&White 39655]

7 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

is he from 24/7?

It was the horn from about 1130 to now

[dcar00 14035]

1 hour ago, SwanderedTalent said:

I see people saying this but I don't agree that the first overtime was the time to go for the two-point conversion since we had the ball first. At least that's not how I'm thinking of it. I'm thinking of it in walk-off terms. End the game at the end of regulation, or if you don't have the sack for that, the end of the 2nd OT since at that point it seemed obvious that our late-game hold on OU's offense had been broken. 

Anyway. Fuck Tom Herman. Hire Urban. 

this. (it was 2nd OT) we had 2 chances to win the game with our O on the field, knowing that our D had little chance to stop OU on a 25 yd field and we failed to take that shot.

why

1) Tom Herman didn't watch the same game we all watched

2) he could not admit to himself that the longer the game went the bigger chance it wasn't going to go our way

[closetohumping 17400]

2 minutes ago, Viper said:

yes. he's the overweight writer at Texas 247 that doesn't know that much about football.

What a coincidence.  OB also has an overweight writer who doesn't know crap about football.

[Viper 12028]

1 minute ago, closetohumping said:

What a coincidence.  OB also has an overweight writer who doesn't know crap about football.

yeah but 247 is better because they have 3 of them

[BurntOrange&White 39655]

1 minute ago, Viper said:

yeah but 247 is better because they have 3 of them

Regardless it was a really good segment. About the failure of Tom. 
 

most interesting thing he said is from a talent perspective there are only 4 teams more talented than us in the country according to 247 algorithm and rankings. 
 

Alabama Georgia Ohio st Clemson are only teams ahead of us. 

[jinx 2635]

3 hours ago, SwanderedTalent said:

man, his wife is a total Karen, he's probably going stir crazy being around her this much

"Is that pesto? Is that pesto? Oh! Oh, it's asparagus! I thought it was pesto!"

So I stood right next to her and her kids for a Gator walk in 2008.  She was very nice and talked briefly with my wife and I.  Casually dressed without a lot of makeup and very friendly and open.  Attractive in a girl next door kind of way.

The lady that was on the stand with Urban when he won the NC at OSU looked nothing like the lady I spoke with in 2008.  I remember stopping the video and showing my wife how different she looked.

This shit has changed her, and she will definitely be a strong NO in Urban coming here if I was to guess (since we are basically friends now based on that one interaction 12 years ago).

Best I could do with the googles

[freyguy 4245]

2 hours ago, ATLLonghorn said:

This is what pisses me off the most:

 

No, motherfucker, this isn't about you as a family. This is about you, Tom Herman, being too much of a chicken shit to let your best player go out and get two fucking yards to win a game when you had TWO opportunities to do it. 

I hate more how divisive this quote is.  This already implies that Sam has a higher standing within the team, than the rest of them.  The response should be about the seniors going out on a sad note.

Get this guy outta here and bring back Mack at the very least....

[freyguy 4245]

it bore repeating...

Edited October 13, 2020 by freyguy

[LTtxfan 48970]

"Ouch. Low blow from Payne. When Herman left Houston for Texas a few years ago, he reportedly left his courtesy car provided by the Cougars at the airport and asked the university to fetch it. Herman had promised he wouldn't leave Houston, but the Longhorns made a lucrative offer and the rest was history."

 

https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Tom-Herman-Texas-Longhorns-hot-seat-reaction-buyout-Eyes-of-Texas-152916506/#152916506_7

What they're saying about Tom Herman, future at Texas

By  BRAD CRAWFORD 3 hours ago

[Not a cat 5619]

5 minutes ago, jinx said:

 

 

 

Hey CDC, quit being a pussy and hire me now.

[Hiphopopotamos 20865]

14 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

 

I don't want to bring you boys or anyone else down off of your highs, but I think you've got to look at Urban Meyer as a long shot right now. I have zero doubt there's potential for mutual interest. I just expect Texas to fuck it all up and have him throw his hands up and walk away, waiting for the shitshow to unfold at USC. 

As things sit now, Texas is already fucking everything up. They're letting Herman maintain "control" of the program when they know with certainty that he's not the guy going forward. "Don't lose another game" is an arbitrary edict when you fully expect him to do so and know that you'll have to then do something anyway. This guy is a cancer and he should have already been shitcanned. Every day that goes by with him at the helm digs the hole deeper for the next guy. 

Unlike many, I guess, here, I'd take Matt Campbell as a consolation prize. I love the recruiting board and I've religiously followed college recruiting since childhood, but Herman and Strong have fully disavowed me of the belief that acquiring enough talent can overcome significant coaching deficiencies. At least with Campbell, we will see players getting developed while watching teams appearing well-coached versus their opponents. Can he win a national title? I don't know. Is he far better than most of the alternatives, I think so.

Certainly love the fact that Campbell is an old OL coach - god knows whoever the next Head Coach at Texas is better understand and prioritize OL coaching/development (having some grad transfer would be good as well). 

[Js1 85109]

3 hours ago, ATLLonghorn said:

This is what pisses me off the most:

 

No, motherfucker, this isn't about you as a family. This is about you, Tom Herman, being too much of a chicken shit to let your best player go out and get two fucking yards to win a game when you had TWO opportunities to do it. 

[Surly Bevo 24696]

The next loss thing if accurate is a bunch of fucking maggot infested horse shit. 

I was already off the Tom wagon but in dwelling on it more this past Saturday I experienced what is my lowest moment as a Texas fan.  I've been at bad losses: 2001 B12 game, All the Stoops horse fuckings of Mack. I was at the game when Mackovic first shit the bed against TCU in FW and watched in horror when Charlie got drilled there in 2015.  Route 66, Coin Toss Bumble Fuck,  Houston Nutt throwing the Horns down and on and on.  I've seen a lot of shit in person but Saturday was the worst.  Why? Because that third quarter made me feel as utterly helpless as a fan, so helpless I felt like a hostage the Taliban is slowly ripping the finger nails out of before they ultimately cut off my head. 

There in the unrelenting sun of a mostly empty Cotton Bowl I watched us come out of halftime tied only to go 3 and out (losing ~10 yards in the process) and then proceed to give up a long punt return followed by a patented OU quick strike 3 play TD drive.  That was bad.  Get the ball back.  3 plays and 9 yards....punt.  Then finger nail by finger nail under a cloudless sky OU went on the most tortuous demoralizing drive I've ever witnessed.  17 plays of Lincoln Reilly and that rat face Spencer Rattler jamming their cocks up every single burnt orange ass who had been able to make it to the Cotton Bowl over and over and over and over until finally their 30th string RB plunged the final cock in from one yard to mercifully end it.  Then three and out again and by that point the quarter was gone.

I've never felt like that as a Texas fan, it was a uniquely excruciating experience.  Fuck you Tom Herman for that.  Throwing you off the tower is too good for you.  

[Ricky Butler 2660]

29 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I don't want to bring you boys or anyone else down off of your highs, but I think you've got to look at Urban Meyer as a long shot right now. I have zero doubt there's potential for mutual interest. I just expect Texas to fuck it all up and have him throw his hands up and walk away, waiting for the shitshow to unfold at USC. 

I could imagine a USC fan writing the inverse of this and it also seeming plausible.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Ricky Butler

[UncleBuck 6445]

8 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

The next loss thing if accurate is a bunch of fucking maggot infested horse shit. 

I was already off the Tom wagon but in dwelling on it more this past Saturday I experienced what is my lowest moment as a Texas fan.  I've been at bad losses: 2001 B12 game, All the Stoops horse fuckings of Mack. I was at the game when Mackovic first shit the bed against TCU in FW and watched in horror when Charlie got drilled there in 2015.  Route 66, Coin Toss Bumble Fuck,  Houston Nutt throwing the Horns down and on and on.  I've seen a lot of shit in person but Saturday was the worst.  Why? Because that third quarter made me feel as utterly helpless as a fan, so helpless I felt like a hostage the Taliban is slowly ripping the finger nails out of before they ultimately cut off my head. 

There in the unrelenting sun of a mostly empty Cotton Bowl I watched us come out of halftime tied only to go 3 and out (losing ~10 yards in the process) and then proceed to give up a long punt return followed by a patented OU quick strike 3 play TD drive.  That was bad.  Get the ball back.  3 plays and 9 yards....punt.  Then finger nail by finger nail under a cloudless sky OU went on the most tortuous demoralizing drive I've ever witnessed.  17 plays of Lincoln Reilly and that rat face Spencer Rattler jamming their cocks up every single burnt orange ass who had been able to make it to the Cotton Bowl over and over and over and over until finally their 30th string RB plunged the final cock in from one yard to mercifully end it.  Then three and out again and by that point the quarter was gone.

I've never felt like that as a Texas fan, it was a uniquely excruciating experience.  Fuck you Tom Herman for that.  Throwing you off the tower is too good for you.  

can you sign my book?

[BradInATX 9208]

50 minutes ago, Not a cat said:

Watching the Clemson game this weekend I was struck with how Dabo immediately took the blame for the decision to try the long field goal right before half.  No "well he makes those in practice", or "he just didnt get it high enough" or any other throwing players or assistants under the bus.  Just a simple "I screwed up, we shouldn't have kicked that.  It was dumb."

Now how do you think turtle would have handled that interview?  Playing for that fuckface has got to be such a beating.

Herman has built an entire culture of non-accountability. His players lash out at the fans and media after losses. You know what great teams and great players do when they lose? They get pissed off at themselves and they get mad as fuck and they go work to fix it. They bust ass to make sure it doesn't happen again. Our players piss and moan about the fans and give snarky, dipshit answers to reporters. Wonder where they learn that from? Our players break rules and fight coaches and loaf and pout and piss and moan, and they're in the starting line up the next game. 

Minus a very few exceptions, these guys are 18-22 year old immature kids/young adults, not career professionals who can be trusted to self-manage their work ethic. They need accountability and consistency and morals and work ethic. Their coach doesn't have any of those things, why the hell would they?

He fucking sucks dick and watching him sit up there with his smug douchebag body language and shirk all blame to the players, media and fans makes me want to punch him right in his stupid, autistic face.

Fuck Tom Herman. He is the perfect combination of shitty at his job and unbearable as a person, and he should have been fired last year.

Edited October 13, 2020 by BradInATX

[TwiceHorn 31272]

14 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Share what sources.  What I meant was there are other public universities like Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia that seem to figure out a way to have decent sports programs and are very good on the academics side also.  The whole attitude that Texas is too good for a coach like Urban Meyer is laughable.  

Yeah, except all of those schools have fucked up football programs, too (with UF and UNC maybe on the upswing, but otherwise comparable past decades, or worse).  Without the swimming, golf, volleyball and softball to make up for it.  Probably add WBB too.

[Bama Llama 1447]

Note: Urbs had health issues at UF and OSU.  Maybe he gets all those behind him, maybe he doesn't.  A semi healthy Urban is probably better than the status quo.  This reminds me of where Bama was when Mike Shula was taking one for the team,  a bold move was needed.  AD Mal Moore, may he rest in eternal peace, went to Miami to hire Nick and praise all deities of all religions, he succeeded.  Good luck, Horns.  

[Newy25 7638]

1 minute ago, Bama Llama said:

Note: Urbs had health issues at UF and OSU.  Maybe he gets all those behind him, maybe he doesn't.  A semi healthy Urban is probably better than the status quo.  This reminds me of where Bama was when Mike Shula was taking one for the team,  a bold move was needed.  AD Mal Moore, may he rest in eternal peace, went to Miami to hire Nick and praise all deities of all religions, he succeeded.  Good luck, Horns.  

You are so adorable. Believing Urban had health issues. 

[Kyle 207]

Mark me down for not understanding how anyone can defend Herman at this point.

[LTtxfan 48970]

39 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I don't want to bring you boys or anyone else down off of your highs, but I think you've got to look at Urban Meyer as a long shot right now. I have zero doubt there's potential for mutual interest. I just expect Texas to fuck it all up and have him throw his hands up and walk away, waiting for the shitshow to unfold at USC. 

As things sit now, Texas is already fucking everything up. They're letting Herman maintain "control" of the program when they know with certainty that he's not the guy going forward. "Don't lose another game" is an arbitrary edict when you fully expect him to do so and know that you'll have to then do something anyway. This guy is a cancer and he should have already been shitcanned. Every day that goes by with him at the helm digs the hole deeper for the next guy. 

Unlike many, I guess, here, I'd take Matt Campbell as a consolation prize. I love the recruiting board and I've religiously followed college recruiting since childhood, but Herman and Strong have fully disavowed me of the belief that acquiring enough talent can overcome significant coaching deficiencies. At least with Campbell, we will see players getting developed while watching teams appearing well-coached versus their opponents. Can he win a national title? I don't know. Is he far better than most of the alternatives, I think so.

[Bigbend1812 12887]

On 10/12/2020 at 12:17 PM, Coach pop a bitch said:

 

[Bodacious Bevo 3576]

The only positive takeaway from waiting on the firing is that sooners don't get the satisfaction of being the team that finished off Herman 

[NTVTXN 1432]

7 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

The only positive takeaway from waiting on the firing is that sooners don't get the satisfaction of being the team that finished off Herman 

You think they’d be happy to get him fired?
From my experience, they’re likely driving the “Keep TH” bandwagon...just like they were “Keep MB”