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

[UncleBuck 6,455]

1 minute ago, TexasRenegade said:

I will state that was one person's comment on the situation. I hadn't seen anyone else say it.  I can believe Dabo might not have been interested in James, but Dabo recruiting is on a whole nother planet compared to Tom's so yeah.

Absolutely. That's another thing. Dabo is in the situation where he can afford to shoo people away. Tom and Herb aren't. 

Saban is and even he didn't. 

Tom's playing 1-D Tic-Tac-Toe

[Thiefery 5,108]

UT is a better job than SC and ou.. Yeah we have sucked for a decade, but you think coaches want to flock to Norman to win? Has Lincoln really set the next coach up to really challenge for a title immediately?

He wants to go to LA to wake up and play games at 9am because they are desperate to get attention?

Fuck that, Texas is the place to be..  Better talent pool that's close to other talent pools across the southeast.  And if he wins here, holy shit will it be better than his other championships he won at FL and tosu.

[Rip76 5,022]

1 minute ago, Thiefery said:

UT is a better job than SC and ou.. Yeah we have sucked for a decade, but you think coaches want to flock to Norman to win? Has Lincoln really set the next coach up to really challenge for a title immediately?

He wants to go to LA to wake up and play games at 9am because they are desperate to get attention?

Fuck that, Texas is the place to be..  Better talent pool that's close to other talent pools across the southeast.  And if he wins here, holy shit will it be better than his other championships he won at FL and tosu.

And to add, those Texas kids headed to OU slows down too should Urban come here.

[LTtxfan 50,005]

19 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Crazy enough, having Ash already on board could actually be a selling point for us if Urban really does like him that much. Maybe Drayton and Yurc too

@golfclap   😂😂😂

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by LTtxfan

[BurntOrange&White 41,864]

5 minutes ago, Rip76 said:

And to add, those Texas kids headed to OU slows down too should Urban come here.

We need to slow down the Texas kids heading to the Bamas, Ohio States, and LSUs before the OUs. Granted both would be ideal but limiting players, especially top targets at key positions going to those OOC programs would be nice 

[Thiefery 5,108]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

We need to slow down the Texas kids heading to the Bamas, Ohio States, and LSUs before the OUs. Granted both would be ideal but limiting players, especially top targets at key positions going to those OOC programs would be nice 

You know what slows that down? Actually winning..  Had Tom established that here, maybe Landon Jackson, JSN, QJ, Tommy, Earl, Mukuba, etc would be either on campus no or heading here in January

[BurntOrange&White 41,864]

Just now, Thiefery said:

You know what slows that down? Actually winning..  Had Tom established that here, maybe Landon Jackson, JSN, QJ, Tommy, Earl, Mukuba, etc would be either on campus no or heading here in January

We’re talking about Urban recruiting. Not Tom. 

[Thiefery 5,108]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

We’re talking about Urban recruiting. Not Tom. 

He'll clean up because he wins everywhere he goes.  I'm not buying the he's going to start the bagmen summer circuit talk either.. he's going to clean up in recruiting with his winning.

[Duane Moore 5,756]

22 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Not really. If Meyer doesn’t come to UT (and I’m not convinced he’d actually keep Ash if he did), Ash and all the other guys will be out of a job anyways and free to follow Urban wherever he goes. The current assistants on staff are not going to have any affect on what Meyer decides. 

From the university’s perspective, it would save money on the transition of the coaching staff. Assuming Urban wanted them. 

[Not a cat 5,808]

2 hours ago, TrashMaster G said:

Jfc, I want him to go, but I don't want him to suffer.

I do.

[Hank_Hill 20,051]

25 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Not really. If Meyer doesn’t come to UT (and I’m not convinced he’d actually keep Ash if he did), Ash and all the other guys will be out of a job anyways and free to follow Urban wherever he goes. The current assistants on staff are not going to have any affect on what Meyer decides. 

I don’t think it will be a difference maker. But having a couple pieces already in place is undeniably easier than hiring them on to a different school. Assuming he even wants to keep them of course. Our defense has looked like ass, what that is attributable to is up for debate.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Hank_Hill

[Billy Pilgrim 2,079]

1 minute ago, Dr. Beeper said:

“Per my source, at first his teammates didn’t know he was still out on the field, much less alone. When they realized he wasn’t in the locker room, some trickled out looking for him, notably Ta’Quon Graham. There’s no fracture within the team and certainly no issue between Ehlinger and his teammates“

I hope @Ghost of LL, that dumb motherfucker, read this. 

I think he’s already established that an affluent white kid can’t be a leader and he’s so much smarter than everyone else on this board so.....

[LTtxfan 50,005]

Already drinkin'... It's Fuckin' Friday and there's no way the TEXAS football team loses a game this weekend!!

Celebrate Surly... 🤘

[RGBIII 23,015]

What did that fat fuck Ketch have to say about the Herman situation. Anyone actually pay money to that fat fuck?

[BurntOrange&White 41,864]

5 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Already drinkin'... It's Fuckin' Friday and there's no way the TEXAS football team loses a game this weekend!!

Celebrate Surly... 🤘

Must I remind you we still have Tom Herman as the head coach so that is a L

[RGBIII 23,015]

9 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

What did that fat fuck Ketch have to say about the Herman situation. Anyone actually pay money to that fat fuck?

Most of it is free, if anyone has the rest?

 

Let's just all take a deep breath for a moment.

What we've just experienced this week was roughly the equivalent of four Red Banquets rolled into six days. Nothing like it has ever happened in the modern era of the Texas football program, and I say that as someone that has covered this team professionally since 1994 when I worked in the Texas Sports Information Department (yes, John Bianco was my boss). I've seen a lot of things, but I haven't ever seen this.

So, let's just woo-sah it out. It's been a long week.

We're getting ready to go down quite a road, but we have to start by addressing the biggest elephant I've ever seen in any burnt orange room I've ever metaphorically stepped into.

At the end of this incredibly exhausting first six weeks of the football season, which has included one mishap after another related to the playing of The Eyes of Texas after three separate games (including the Sam Stands Alone moment), along with a massive behind-the-scenes impact on fund-raising for the South end-zone project during the middle of a pandemic...You got all that? Woo-sah it out again if you need to.

In the backdrop of all of this mess, a massive implication emerged on Thursday through a combination of multiple online media reports, an athletic director's letter to Texas fans and a general rush from various corners of the Orangebloods.com universe to provide cover for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte following my own report on Wednesday that Del Conte had made mistakes since July that had exasperated the problem.

The implication that exists out in the universe right now, which hasn't completely been flushed out, is that Texas head coach Tom Herman has defied Del Conte's very specific, very detailed and very unmistakable directives with regards to what each coach, coaching staff and set of players in each sport across the entire UT athletics globe needed to be doing with regards the playing of The Eyes of Texas following games.

The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious. If you thought that I wasn't going to recognize the reporting of a former Orangebloods staff writer, Del Conte's own words and everything that has happened since Wednesday morning ... I'm not sure how well you know me because we are absolutely going to TALK ABOUT ALL OF IT. (Continued)

Edited October 16, 2020 by RGBIII

[LTtxfan 50,005]

4 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Must I remind you we still have Tom Herman as the head coach so that is a L

Drink more... TEXAS can't lose a football game this weekend

Celebrate Surly...

Edited October 16, 2020 by LTtxfan

[LTtxfan 50,005]

2 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by LTtxfan
messed up

[Knighthawk 296]

57 minutes ago, Jimbob said:

Could help, but with all our holes next season along with scholarship limits, thinking the portal will fix things is a fools errand. 
 

have to see how/if NCAA addresses the free play 2020 season. Next year we need OL, LBs, CBs, safeties, a RB or 2... 

Hell smu built an entire roster from the portal.   And they would beat the shit out of us if we played them earlier this year.    They have some key injuries now which might make the game competitive.  

[RGBIII 23,015]

If that jelly donut fuck is now calling for Herman’s job it’s a done fucking deal...

[BurntOrange&White 41,864]

Just now, RGBIII said:

If that jelly donut fuck is now calling for Herman’s job it’s a done fucking deal...

Do you have the article from their latest post?

[LTtxfan 50,005]

6 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Must I remind you we still have Tom Herman as the head coach so that is a L

Celebrate... TEXAS football can't lose a game this weekend...

 

DAMN...

[RGBIII 23,015]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Do you have the article from their latest post?

I don’t just the free preview or whatever the fuck above. I’ll be damned if I let that jiggly fuck spend my 9.95 on bear claws and donut holes

[Colonel Sanders 1,392]

5 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

 

In the backdrop of all of this mess, a massive implication emerged on Thursday through a combination of multiple online media reports, an athletic director's letter to Texas fans and a general rush from various corners of the Orangebloods.com universe to provide cover for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte following my own report on Wednesday that Del Conte had made mistakes since July that had exasperated the problem.

The implication that exists out in the universe right now, which hasn't completely been flushed out, is that Texas head coach Tom Herman has defied Del Conte's very specific, very detailed and very unmistakable directives with regards to what each coach, coaching staff and set of players in each sport across the entire UT athletics globe needed to be doing with regards the playing of The Eyes of Texas following games.

The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. 

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious. 

[BurntOrange&White 41,864]

3 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

I don’t just the free preview or whatever the fuck above. I’ll be damned if I let that jiggly fuck spend my 9.95 on bear claws and donut holes

ive never seen all major 9.95ers calling for a guys head. This is actually crazy....I mean OBs hasn’t come out and said it yet but the bottom portion implies it  

 

“The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious.“

[trythisathome 980]

1 minute ago, BurntOrange&White said:

ive never seen all major 9.95ers calling for a guys head. This is actually crazy....I mean OBs hasn’t come out and said it yet but the bottom portion implies it  

 

“The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious.“

So we're pretty much looking at a Kansas-David Beaty situation here going forward, right? Just hopefully with better results for our AD. 

[RGBIII 23,015]

3 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

ive never seen all major 9.95ers calling for a guys head. This is actually crazy....I mean OBs hasn’t come out and said it yet but the bottom portion implies it  

 

“The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious.“

That’s not even the full article, who knows what that jiggly bitch even said at the end. If they start calling for it he’s toast

[Tailgate 3,077]

Let's just all take a deep breath for a moment.

What we've just experienced this week was roughly the equivalent of four Red Banquets rolled into six days. Nothing like it has ever happened in the modern era of the Texas football program, and I say that as someone that has covered this team professionally since 1994 when I worked in the Texas Sports Information Department (yes, John Bianco was my boss). I've seen a lot of things, but I haven't ever seen this.

So, let's just woo-sah it out. It's been a long week.
 

 

We're getting ready to go down quite a road, but we have to start by addressing the biggest elephant I've ever seen in any burnt orange room I've ever metaphorically stepped into.

At the end of this incredibly exhausting first six weeks of the football season, which has included one mishap after another related to the playing of The Eyes of Texas after three separate games (including the Sam Stands Alone moment), along with a massive behind-the-scenes impact on fund-raising for the South end-zone project during the middle of a pandemic...

You got all that? Woo-sah it out again if you need to.

In the backdrop of all of this mess, a massive implication emerged on Thursday through a combination of multiple online media reports, an athletic director's letter to Texas fans and a general rush from various corners of the Orangebloods.com universe to provide cover for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte following my own report on Wednesday that Del Conte had made mistakes since July that had exasperated the problem.

The implication that exists out in the universe right now, which hasn't completely been flushed out, is that Texas head coach Tom Herman has defied Del Conte's very specific, very detailed and very unmistakable directives with regards to what each coach, coaching staff and set of players in each sport across the entire UT athletics globe needed to be doing with regards the playing of The Eyes of Texas following games.

The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious. If you thought that I wasn't going to recognize the reporting of a former Orangebloods staff writer, Del Conte's own words and everything that has happened since Wednesday morning ... I'm not sure how well you know me because we are absolutely going to TALK ABOUT ALL OF IT.

Basically, I'm going to break this down into three sections.

I. What has been reported and directly implied in the last 36 hours.
II. Did Orangebloods get it wrong with its reporting?
III. Where we go from here.

This bad boy might end up being 10,000 words, so let's not waste any more time.

No. 1 - The Last 36 hours

In a premium article at 247sports, former Orangebloods reporter Chip Brown talked to three different head coaches of various sports on the 40 Acres and they went on record to support the communication efforts from Del Conte. Out of respect for the premium work by our former colleague, I'll share only one quote.

It's from Eddie Freaking Reese.

“The understanding we have is during the playing of the Eyes of Texas, we don’t have to sing or Hookem, but we should be there as a team,” Reese said.

Women’s swimming coach Carol Capitani went even further with his comments, but let's just stick with Eddie Reese because ... well ... he's Eddie Reese and I'm not sure I've ever heard a bad word said about the man or his character.

It feels like his word is gold, which makes his statement incredibly damning.

Now, let's take a look at comments that came from Del Conte in his sometimes regular newsletter on Wednesday afternoon.

"With that said, I do want to clarify that I have had many conversations with our head coaches outlining my expectations that our teams show appreciation for our University, fans, and supporters by standing together as a unified group for 'The Eyes,' while we work through this issue. However, like all families who see the world through different lenses, we have plenty of work to do on this subject and will continue to do so, but rest assured, our student-athletes love and respect this University very much and are competing their hearts out for it."

In Del Conte's own words, he said that he "had many conversations with our head coaches outlining my expectations that our teams show appreciation," but he never outlines that he personally ever told any athletes the same.

Remember that little detail because I will return to it.

Finally, Austin American-Statesman reporter Brian Davis actually spoke with Del Conte and Texas spokesperson Gary Susswein and apparently Del Conte himself to confirm the following two nuggets.


That's it. No further follow-ups the rest of the day on any of it, which feels weird.

No. 2 - Did Orangebloods &^%$ up?

Here are the main bullet points from my article on Wednesday. Let's just cut to the chase.

1. When meeting with Texas athletes prior to the release of the announcement of its Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, Del Conte did not communicate to the Texas athletes that he spoke with that it would be expected that they remain on the field for The Eyes of Texas. That meeting ended with Texas athletes feeling like they had been given the green light to basically choose whatever action they wanted with regards to action when the song was played.

2. I reported that from the end of the meeting in July all the way to the first game against UTEP that "there was minimal conversation" between university officials, the Texas coaching staff and the players.

3. That there was a meeting scheduled later in the week to address the current fiasco.

4. There were concerns that the lack of action had left new Texas president Jay Hartzell as a target, provided zero public protection for his coaches by speaking openly and transparently on the record and that players might push back strongly if they were forced to participate in the song after being told that they didn't in July.

Real quickly - No. 1 is true and indisputable. No. 3 happened. With No. 4, Hartzell suddenly seems out of the fray, the coaches are still sitting ducks to some degree (see Shaka Smart), but none of the players have yet to push back by the new set of guidelines they've been given.

So, let's focus on No. 2.

Our timeline in the story specifically mentions that the communication was lacking leading up to the very first game. It might seem like semantics but the distinctions of the timeline matter quite a bit when it comes to determining how much responsibility Herman owns in this entire situation.

Upon checking with numerous sources, there's an important piece of the story that took place last Thursday, October 8. Following the TCU game the previous Saturday, Del Conte met with at least a small section of the head coaches (we have not confirmed ALL were involved) within the Texas athletics universe to discuss the situation five days later.

We were one of the only people that confirmed that this meeting took place before the middle of this week

Full transparency: We found out about this information on Friday morning and were contacted by a senior official at the school who threatened to blame Orangebloods if we reported the information and members of the Texas football team decided to not play against Oklahoma because of it. However, we did continue to vet it, we did confirm that it occurred and it was discussed on the site..

Given that the athletic department was making threats to us on Friday morning, it's fair to ask out loud why that note was reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, confirmed by Orangebloods and ignored by every other reporter on the Texas football beat last week.

However, a key note emerged on Thursday.

A source connected to another men's sport told Orangebloods that during the meeting, Del Conte not only told all of the coaches present (including Herman) that not only staff members would be expected to stand for the song, but also all of the players.

Ladies and gentlemen, this might very well be the Professor Plum in the Library with the candlestick moment of this entire ordeal. We can get into a further discussion about whether Del Conte had been as direct about his expectations to the coaches prior to this meeting, but if our sourcing is correct, then Del Conte did tell Herman before the Oklahoma game about the expectations.

Before Sam was left alone by his teammates. Before the players walked off. Before the entire burnt orange world melted down like The Chernobyl Disaster.

The expectations outlined by Del Conte to Herman in that meeting suggested Herman needed to do whatever was needed to prevent what happened in the Cotton Bowl from happening.

Following the comments from the trio of head coaches that Brown spoke with, it seems like all three coaches need to answer a few follow up questions about specific details of just how many times in the previous two months such outlines had been given by Del Conte, but the Thursday meeting explains why all three coaches went on the record about having clear instructions.

That's big.

No. 3 - Now what ...

Who the hell knows, if we're being honest?

I suppose it partly comes down to whether this stays restricted to the bubble of premium Internet sites or goes beyond that? Will the Statesman ever report on it, especially since it has access to Del Conte, who refused to return my call on Tuesday after he reached out to me on Tuesday morning and we played a game of tag via calls and texts (I have screenshots).

Will Bruce Feldman report on it? Andy Staples? Pat Forde? Pete Thamel? Game Day? Urban Meyer on the Fox pre-game show?

Do any other reporters in this market cover this story with any thirst?

If so, this thing is going to explode before Texas plays football again. If not, perhaps this ends up being some story that myself, Anwar and Chip all made a big roar about, but nothing else occurs.

Regardless, we're at a point where Del Conte AND Herman need to answer questions about this situation. and opening statements on Monday from Herman are not enough. At a bare minimum, the OU disaster might have occurred because he was so worried about a team revolt that might lead to players missing the OU game, that he just didn't tell them.

Maybe that's not what happened. Again, that's why he needs to answer some questions.

Same with Del Conte.

If he gave orders throughout the last few weeks and months beyond last Thursday and this week, it's time to give some specifics because if his head football coach has ignored his orders all season ... what the hell?

Is Del Conte trying to give Herman so much slack that he has grounds to fire him? If that was the goal, the grounds now seemingly exist, although it still boggles the mind that it took six weeks, four Texas games, three Eyes of Texas fiascos and one Sam Stands moment for this thing to reach some clarity this week with Wednesday's meeting.

Take a look at Herman's contract.
 

 

Folks, it's all there.

We're here.

Man, Tom Herman 's press conference on Monday has a chance to be something else. Of course, if Herman actually disobeyed his boss to the point that he ignored him for days, weeks and months, why would Del Conte still allow for him to talk at all, given that Herman would have put the entire program in a compromising position?

Fellas, it's time for some questions to be answered ... on the record.

The moment for full transparency has arrived.

[UncleBuck 6,455]

11 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

ive never seen all major 9.95ers calling for a guys head. This is actually crazy....I mean OBs hasn’t come out and said it yet but the bottom portion implies it  

 

“The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious.“

Well, I'll be damned. This is kinda big. 

Edited October 16, 2020 by UncleBuck

[Thiefery 5,108]

1 minute ago, Dr. Beeper said:

If you’re gonna do that, make yourself the OC. Nobody is gonna buy any kind of scapegoat bullshit. Everyone knows what Herman is doing.  I really wonder if he thinks he can survive this season. Like deep down, what is he thinking right now?

Gonna enjoy my millions and then take a FIU type job and become hotter than Kiffin

[Thiefery 5,108]

3 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

Let's just all take a deep breath for a moment.

What we've just experienced this week was roughly the equivalent of four Red Banquets rolled into six days. Nothing like it has ever happened in the modern era of the Texas football program, and I say that as someone that has covered this team professionally since 1994 when I worked in the Texas Sports Information Department (yes, John Bianco was my boss). I've seen a lot of things, but I haven't ever seen this.

So, let's just woo-sah it out. It's been a long week.
 

 

We're getting ready to go down quite a road, but we have to start by addressing the biggest elephant I've ever seen in any burnt orange room I've ever metaphorically stepped into.

At the end of this incredibly exhausting first six weeks of the football season, which has included one mishap after another related to the playing of The Eyes of Texas after three separate games (including the Sam Stands Alone moment), along with a massive behind-the-scenes impact on fund-raising for the South end-zone project during the middle of a pandemic...

You got all that? Woo-sah it out again if you need to.

In the backdrop of all of this mess, a massive implication emerged on Thursday through a combination of multiple online media reports, an athletic director's letter to Texas fans and a general rush from various corners of the Orangebloods.com universe to provide cover for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte following my own report on Wednesday that Del Conte had made mistakes since July that had exasperated the problem.

The implication that exists out in the universe right now, which hasn't completely been flushed out, is that Texas head coach Tom Herman has defied Del Conte's very specific, very detailed and very unmistakable directives with regards to what each coach, coaching staff and set of players in each sport across the entire UT athletics globe needed to be doing with regards the playing of The Eyes of Texas following games.

The implication is that everything from the last couple of months is Herman's fault, that if he had been following the very clear orders that Del Conte had given everyone else, the mess from the last few months wouldn't have quite existed the way that it has.

Perhaps most importantly, the implication is that what happened on Saturday against Oklahoma and all of the fallout from that disaster would never have happened.

Those are the implications and they are not small. In fact, a strong case can be made that if Herman's alleged flagrant insubordination has created a sizable portion of the mess, it would register as grounds for immediate dismissal.

When I say the implications are serious ... I mean they are that serious. If you thought that I wasn't going to recognize the reporting of a former Orangebloods staff writer, Del Conte's own words and everything that has happened since Wednesday morning ... I'm not sure how well you know me because we are absolutely going to TALK ABOUT ALL OF IT.

Basically, I'm going to break this down into three sections.

I. What has been reported and directly implied in the last 36 hours.
II. Did Orangebloods get it wrong with its reporting?
III. Where we go from here.

This bad boy might end up being 10,000 words, so let's not waste any more time.

No. 1 - The Last 36 hours

In a premium article at 247sports, former Orangebloods reporter Chip Brown talked to three different head coaches of various sports on the 40 Acres and they went on record to support the communication efforts from Del Conte. Out of respect for the premium work by our former colleague, I'll share only one quote.

It's from Eddie Freaking Reese.

“The understanding we have is during the playing of the Eyes of Texas, we don’t have to sing or Hookem, but we should be there as a team,” Reese said.

Women’s swimming coach Carol Capitani went even further with his comments, but let's just stick with Eddie Reese because ... well ... he's Eddie Reese and I'm not sure I've ever heard a bad word said about the man or his character.

It feels like his word is gold, which makes his statement incredibly damning.

Now, let's take a look at comments that came from Del Conte in his sometimes regular newsletter on Wednesday afternoon.

"With that said, I do want to clarify that I have had many conversations with our head coaches outlining my expectations that our teams show appreciation for our University, fans, and supporters by standing together as a unified group for 'The Eyes,' while we work through this issue. However, like all families who see the world through different lenses, we have plenty of work to do on this subject and will continue to do so, but rest assured, our student-athletes love and respect this University very much and are competing their hearts out for it."

In Del Conte's own words, he said that he "had many conversations with our head coaches outlining my expectations that our teams show appreciation," but he never outlines that he personally ever told any athletes the same.

Remember that little detail because I will return to it.

Finally, Austin American-Statesman reporter Brian Davis actually spoke with Del Conte and Texas spokesperson Gary Susswein and apparently Del Conte himself to confirm the following two nuggets.


That's it. No further follow-ups the rest of the day on any of it, which feels weird.

No. 2 - Did Orangebloods &^%$ up?

Here are the main bullet points from my article on Wednesday. Let's just cut to the chase.

1. When meeting with Texas athletes prior to the release of the announcement of its Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, Del Conte did not communicate to the Texas athletes that he spoke with that it would be expected that they remain on the field for The Eyes of Texas. That meeting ended with Texas athletes feeling like they had been given the green light to basically choose whatever action they wanted with regards to action when the song was played.

2. I reported that from the end of the meeting in July all the way to the first game against UTEP that "there was minimal conversation" between university officials, the Texas coaching staff and the players.

3. That there was a meeting scheduled later in the week to address the current fiasco.

4. There were concerns that the lack of action had left new Texas president Jay Hartzell as a target, provided zero public protection for his coaches by speaking openly and transparently on the record and that players might push back strongly if they were forced to participate in the song after being told that they didn't in July.

Real quickly - No. 1 is true and indisputable. No. 3 happened. With No. 4, Hartzell suddenly seems out of the fray, the coaches are still sitting ducks to some degree (see Shaka Smart), but none of the players have yet to push back by the new set of guidelines they've been given.

So, let's focus on No. 2.

Our timeline in the story specifically mentions that the communication was lacking leading up to the very first game. It might seem like semantics but the distinctions of the timeline matter quite a bit when it comes to determining how much responsibility Herman owns in this entire situation.

Upon checking with numerous sources, there's an important piece of the story that took place last Thursday, October 8. Following the TCU game the previous Saturday, Del Conte met with at least a small section of the head coaches (we have not confirmed ALL were involved) within the Texas athletics universe to discuss the situation five days later.

We were one of the only people that confirmed that this meeting took place before the middle of this week

Full transparency: We found out about this information on Friday morning and were contacted by a senior official at the school who threatened to blame Orangebloods if we reported the information and members of the Texas football team decided to not play against Oklahoma because of it. However, we did continue to vet it, we did confirm that it occurred and it was discussed on the site..

Given that the athletic department was making threats to us on Friday morning, it's fair to ask out loud why that note was reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, confirmed by Orangebloods and ignored by every other reporter on the Texas football beat last week.

However, a key note emerged on Thursday.

A source connected to another men's sport told Orangebloods that during the meeting, Del Conte not only told all of the coaches present (including Herman) that not only staff members would be expected to stand for the song, but also all of the players.

Ladies and gentlemen, this might very well be the Professor Plum in the Library with the candlestick moment of this entire ordeal. We can get into a further discussion about whether Del Conte had been as direct about his expectations to the coaches prior to this meeting, but if our sourcing is correct, then Del Conte did tell Herman before the Oklahoma game about the expectations.

Before Sam was left alone by his teammates. Before the players walked off. Before the entire burnt orange world melted down like The Chernobyl Disaster.

The expectations outlined by Del Conte to Herman in that meeting suggested Herman needed to do whatever was needed to prevent what happened in the Cotton Bowl from happening.

Following the comments from the trio of head coaches that Brown spoke with, it seems like all three coaches need to answer a few follow up questions about specific details of just how many times in the previous two months such outlines had been given by Del Conte, but the Thursday meeting explains why all three coaches went on the record about having clear instructions.

That's big.

No. 3 - Now what ...

Who the hell knows, if we're being honest?

I suppose it partly comes down to whether this stays restricted to the bubble of premium Internet sites or goes beyond that? Will the Statesman ever report on it, especially since it has access to Del Conte, who refused to return my call on Tuesday after he reached out to me on Tuesday morning and we played a game of tag via calls and texts (I have screenshots).

Will Bruce Feldman report on it? Andy Staples? Pat Forde? Pete Thamel? Game Day? Urban Meyer on the Fox pre-game show?

Do any other reporters in this market cover this story with any thirst?

If so, this thing is going to explode before Texas plays football again. If not, perhaps this ends up being some story that myself, Anwar and Chip all made a big roar about, but nothing else occurs.

Regardless, we're at a point where Del Conte AND Herman need to answer questions about this situation. and opening statements on Monday from Herman are not enough. At a bare minimum, the OU disaster might have occurred because he was so worried about a team revolt that might lead to players missing the OU game, that he just didn't tell them.

Maybe that's not what happened. Again, that's why he needs to answer some questions.

Same with Del Conte.

If he gave orders throughout the last few weeks and months beyond last Thursday and this week, it's time to give some specifics because if his head football coach has ignored his orders all season ... what the hell?

Is Del Conte trying to give Herman so much slack that he has grounds to fire him? If that was the goal, the grounds now seemingly exist, although it still boggles the mind that it took six weeks, four Texas games, three Eyes of Texas fiascos and one Sam Stands moment for this thing to reach some clarity this week with Wednesday's meeting.

Take a look at Herman's contract.
 

 

Folks, it's all there.

We're here.

Man, Tom Herman 's press conference on Monday has a chance to be something else. Of course, if Herman actually disobeyed his boss to the point that he ignored him for days, weeks and months, why would Del Conte still allow for him to talk at all, given that Herman would have put the entire program in a compromising position?

Fellas, it's time for some questions to be answered ... on the record.

The moment for full transparency has arrived.

WTF is this shit?  

[Surly Bevo 25,748]

Like deep down, what is he thinking right now?

[Newy25 7,916]

When skimming that Ketch article I just see that guy in Jurassic Park standing in front of that gigantic pile of shit. That was truly a terrible article written by a truly terrible person. 

[RGBIII 23,015]

Just now, Newy25 said:

When skimming that Ketch article I just see that guy in Jurassic Park standing in front of that gigantic pile of shit. That was truly a terrible article written by a truly terrible person. 

He went from blaming CDC, to blaming a miscommunication, to deflecting blame back to Herman based on his terrible fucking reporting, back to still implicating CDC...I’d normally call that waffling but I’d be scared that ketch would try to pour maple syrup on it

[wood 11,766]

Words, words, words, and some numbers ....

[Helobious 9,820]

I can’t believe I read that whole article. Writer made the song situation sound like Watergate. Del Conte laid out guidelines for The Eyes & Herman probably didn’t listen? That was the huge revelation? It’s a fucking song. Players should shut up and at least stand out there for it, fans should shut up and quit crying about players not wanting to sing it. I’ve never seen so many sensitive pussies on both sides of an issue. What an embarrassment.

But if the song thing helps get Herman fired I’m all for it. 

[Newy25 7,916]

1 minute ago, RGBIII said:

He went from blaming CDC, to blaming a miscommunication, to deflecting blame back to Herman based on his terrible fucking reporting, back to still implicating CDC...I’d normally call that waffling but I’d be scared that ketch would try to pour maple syrup on it

Basically it’s everyone else’s fault except his own that he got the entire story wrong. That’s what I gleaned from that chicken wing fueled rant. 

[LTtxfan 50,005]

Find a way to show insubordination by Herman... then fire his ass!!

 

Back to Friday Drinkin....

[Knoxtnhorn 6,309]

6 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

He went from blaming CDC, to blaming a miscommunication, to deflecting blame back to Herman based on his terrible fucking reporting, back to still implicating CDC...I’d normally call that waffling but I’d be scared that ketch would try to pour maple syrup on it

Glad I wasn't the only one wondering wtf I was reading.

[General Specific 3,507]

Hire Urban now. Demote Tom to special teams urine sample inspector. Tom rage quits. Profit? 
Other titles: hydration analyst, water boy, pee man

He looks like the piss boy!

[6th Street 6,692]

Someone paid money for that pile of garbage

[theaveragejon 1,104]

I just don’t give a shit about The Eyes. 

[Surly Bevo 25,748]

21 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

We're getting ready to go down quite a road, but we have to start by addressing the biggest elephant I've ever seen in any burnt orange room I've ever metaphorically stepped into.

What, no mirrors in the Ketch household?

[Herpa Derpa 6,343]

1 minute ago, 6th Street said:

Someone paid money for that pile of garbage

Many someones.  If he were born during this period, P.T. Barnum would absolutely be running a site like Orangebloods.

[LTtxfan 50,005]

Texas football can't lose a game this weekend...

C'mon Get Happy... 😁

[futureman 22,700]

6 minutes ago, theaveragejon said:

I just don’t give a shit about The Eyes. 

nor should you.  this is an issue for alums. 

[reneg_2 74]

Urban. 

[TejasPedro 1,917]

Tom was told unequivocally, under no circumstances was he to continue sucking as hard as has against OU. The policy was crystal clear to stop gargling Gary Patterson’s balls year after year. He has gone against numerous directives for the past several weeks and there are grounds for immediate termination for being obstinate and insubordinate.

[Tex Pete 21,488]

16 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I can’t believe I read that whole article. Writer made the song situation sound like Watergate. Del Conte laid out guidelines for The Eyes & Herman probably didn’t listen? That was the huge revelation? It’s a fucking song. Players should shut up and at least stand out there for it, fans should shut up and quit crying about players not wanting to sing it. I’ve never seen so many sensitive pussies on both sides of an issue. What an embarrassment.

But if the song thing helps get Herman fired I’m all for it. 

Right,  but the whole thing is indicative of the dumpster fire our program currently is. It’s more than the song itself. 

[Viper 12,220]

18 minutes ago, Newy25 said:

Basically it’s everyone else’s fault except his own that he got the entire story wrong. That’s what I gleaned from that chicken wing fueled rant. 

no don't you see? they only got it wrong because they were threatened by the athletic department! help help they're being oppressed here!