Mike Roach
Staff
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2013
- Messages
- 2,021
1) It was a banner day on the 40 Acres for a lot of fans who got what they wanted in new Head Coach Tom Herman. The attitude around the program is peppy after three years of difficulty, and one staffer described everyone having a bit more spring in their step. Greg Fenves had a perma-smile on his face as he spoke about the hiring process and why they chose to go with Herman. "We got our man, and that man is the hottest coach in college football right now", said Fenves. For the UT President, he has to be relieved to get this thing over with quickly.
2) I thought Tom Herman "won the press conference" as much as it could be won. If I were giving him a rating it would probably be close to a 10/10. Herman checked all of the right boxes and came off very polished during his initial press meeting.
3) It was a strong play by Herman to repeatedly praise the state's high school coaches, and it was a play right out of the Mack Brown playbook. I remember in 2006 watching the National Championship game with some high school coaches, and seeing them beam when Mack Brown thanked them and their peers shortly after raising the crystal football. The bottom line is, that stuff matters in this state and Herman knows it. He went so far as to individually call out a few Houston-area coaches by name.
4) Inclusiveness was a hallmark of Mack Brown's tenure at Texas, and you could tell that rubbed off on Herman during his previous tenure here. Herman opened the presser by saying things would be opened to the aforementioned high school coaches and former players. That's not to say that the program was closed when Charlie Strong was in office, but it was important and refreshing to hear it from Herman.
5) I thought Herman did his best to put off a professional aura, but you could tell there was some giddiness about getting this job coming out. The best example was when he gave Mack Brown a big hug in the audience, and the smile on his face couldn't have been bigger.
6) You hear the phrase "detail oriented" so much in this business, and I thought that attitude bled through everywhere when Herman talked about the way he approaches coaching. Those things matter, and they permeate throughout the entire program from academic performance, to offseason work, to recruiting, and play on the field.
7) I thought the best thing Herman did all day was blend the personalities of each coach he's worked for together. While he definitely had a Mack Brown "family feel" aspect about him, he also showed some disciplinarian aspects of his philosophy. So many times in coaching searches there's a desire by programs to over-correct and go between "player's coach" and "disciplinarian", and I thought Herman split the difference quite nicely. Strong drew love from his players by balancing the two, and I think Herman is the same type of guy.
8) It was nice to see that Herman came out of the gates talking about toughness. I anticipated some feel good moments where he would talk about loving the players and getting them on board, but he mentioned twice that there would be changes, and players would have to earn that love. Two quotes I absolutely loved from today, "This program is going to be really hard. Winning is hard", and "The TLC has to be earned, it's not going to be camp Texas around here".
9) Tom Herman's most important recruiting job right now is D'Onta Foreman. We've talked about how similar this was to when Ricky Williams came back, and the impact could be felt in the same way.
10) All of this said, let's not go too crazy over a press conference. The talent is here, but this team has a long way to go.
2) I thought Tom Herman "won the press conference" as much as it could be won. If I were giving him a rating it would probably be close to a 10/10. Herman checked all of the right boxes and came off very polished during his initial press meeting.
3) It was a strong play by Herman to repeatedly praise the state's high school coaches, and it was a play right out of the Mack Brown playbook. I remember in 2006 watching the National Championship game with some high school coaches, and seeing them beam when Mack Brown thanked them and their peers shortly after raising the crystal football. The bottom line is, that stuff matters in this state and Herman knows it. He went so far as to individually call out a few Houston-area coaches by name.
4) Inclusiveness was a hallmark of Mack Brown's tenure at Texas, and you could tell that rubbed off on Herman during his previous tenure here. Herman opened the presser by saying things would be opened to the aforementioned high school coaches and former players. That's not to say that the program was closed when Charlie Strong was in office, but it was important and refreshing to hear it from Herman.
5) I thought Herman did his best to put off a professional aura, but you could tell there was some giddiness about getting this job coming out. The best example was when he gave Mack Brown a big hug in the audience, and the smile on his face couldn't have been bigger.
6) You hear the phrase "detail oriented" so much in this business, and I thought that attitude bled through everywhere when Herman talked about the way he approaches coaching. Those things matter, and they permeate throughout the entire program from academic performance, to offseason work, to recruiting, and play on the field.
7) I thought the best thing Herman did all day was blend the personalities of each coach he's worked for together. While he definitely had a Mack Brown "family feel" aspect about him, he also showed some disciplinarian aspects of his philosophy. So many times in coaching searches there's a desire by programs to over-correct and go between "player's coach" and "disciplinarian", and I thought Herman split the difference quite nicely. Strong drew love from his players by balancing the two, and I think Herman is the same type of guy.
8) It was nice to see that Herman came out of the gates talking about toughness. I anticipated some feel good moments where he would talk about loving the players and getting them on board, but he mentioned twice that there would be changes, and players would have to earn that love. Two quotes I absolutely loved from today, "This program is going to be really hard. Winning is hard", and "The TLC has to be earned, it's not going to be camp Texas around here".
9) Tom Herman's most important recruiting job right now is D'Onta Foreman. We've talked about how similar this was to when Ricky Williams came back, and the impact could be felt in the same way.
10) All of this said, let's not go too crazy over a press conference. The talent is here, but this team has a long way to go.
