So I've seen a ton of criticism for this hire. Especially after the embarrassing loss Ohio State suffered in the CFP this year.
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However, let me put some worries to rest and possibly explain the reason behind Tim Beck.
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Reason number 1 for the hire: Consistent Message
When a coach gets asked, "What went wrong?" their answer tends to fall into the spectrum of "we didn't execute." So what is the simplest way to get every player on the same page? Have a staff that is on the same page.
A staff that gives the players consistency and confidence (which often come together) is more likely to maximize the talents that they have. Can you imagine unlocking the talent Texas has on offense currently?
On top of this if Herman hires RBs coach Stan Drayton as widely reported, all nine of his assistants will have worked at either UH or Ohio State, or both. This fact shouldn't scare Longhorn fans. Sometimes innovation and different ideas from different places are nice. However, the innovation must come in moderation and be focused.
Simply put, having these coaches that all have similar styles/backgrounds/etc. in theory should make for instant chemistry around the water cooler and lead to better coaching. Better and consistent coaching leads to execution. Execution leads to wins. Execution with superior talent leads to big wins.
One thing that plagued the Charlie Strong era at Texas was disorder between coaches. It was the reason for lack of offense in 2014/2015 and possibly a reason for the defensive collapse in 2016. So it shouldn't be difficult to explain that having your coaches all following the same line is pretty important for success.
Reason #2: Recruiting
It has been well documented that Tom Herman doesn't settle for a pure recruiter or a good coaching who doesn't fancy recruiting. You must be well versed in both fields to work under Coach Herman.
When you look at the offensive coordinator position under Texas, the last OC to pull in multiple big time recruits was Major Applewhite, who was immediately picked up by Tom Herman.
Tim Beck was the head recruiter in the recruitment of guys like Dwayne Haskins, (Longhorn favorite) Tate Martell, Emroy Jones, and Baron Browning. In fact he was responsible for bringing in two 5 stars, six 4 stars, and twelve 3 stars. The man will swing some big names to Texas.
This staff has some serious recruiting firepower even with the absence of Jeff Traylor and Tim Brewster.
Reason #3: Still Tom's Offense
There are multiple criticisms of Beck's time at Ohio State. The main one being that Beck isn’t as good at developing the passing game as Herman was at Ohio State.
...Well, that's what Tom Herman and Drew Mehringer are there to do. In theory it's brilliant. Tom Herman has brought in an offensive coordinator who has excelled on the ground and brought in his protege for air traffic control duties.
In fact, Beck's ground game is so well done that in his 6 years as an OC his teams have been in the top 10 three times for run game S&P.
Reason #4: Teaching the Spread
This one kind of falls under reason #1, however this deals with a more technical aspect. #1 involves both on field and off field messages. This is more on field.
With two underclassmen as you QB 1 and 2, Herman needs some one who has a background in teaching the spread properly. This is where Tim Beck diverts path from the former ex-Nebraska OC at Texas. Tim Beck has been able to successfully teach the spread run games and get quarterbacks to execute it correctly. He exceled at this with Taylor Martinez, Tommy Armstrong, JT Barrett, and Cardale Jones.
Just to sum all this up and put a nice bow on it...
Herman is assembling a bunch of coaches who have come from under impressive coaching backgrounds and have a lot of potential, making sure they are all on the same page, and then building the offense and defense around this. Tim Beck is the latest in this process.
