Herman is a 'Horn and the Roadrunners are bowling in this week's 411

[caption id="attachment_27640" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Diana Porter Photo by Diana Porter[/caption] We recap our last full college football weekend of 2016 with a lot of news about what's to come in the month and year ahead. Four ObservationsA new era on the 40 Acres It didn’t take Texas long to find its new coach, which must be welcomed news for the Longhorns faithful used to the athletic department shelling out sums of money for consulting firms. Charlie Strong was fired after the Kansas, I mean TCU game, and was promptly replaced by former Texas grad assistant Tom Herman. We all know Herman’s story. The former offensive coordinator at Ohio State took the Houston job after the 2014 season and immediately made the Cougars relevant on the national scene for the first time in decades. He went 22-4 as head coach at Houston. In those same two years, Strong failed to coach his Texas team to even a .500 record. Change was needed and Texas made the change without drama. Herman’s first job is to win over his current roster. His next job is to put together a meaningful 2017 recruiting class in two months. Herman’s and his future staff’s relationships around the state will go a long way in salvaging the recruiting class. Texas’ 2017 class was always going to be small based on the amount of youth currently on the roster, so Herman inherits a manageable situation as head coach at Texas. The same couldn’t be said for Strong because of how inept the roster was when Mack Brown departed. Herman likely enjoys success with Strong’s players. Both men’s legacies should reflect that truth. The best G5 job in the country Herman leaving Houston leaves a vacancy in Third Ward. The Cougars are a hot program and should get a quality pool of candidates to choose from in the upcoming search. Houston is a hotbed of recruiting and, as Herman showed, enough of those players enjoy staying home to represent Houston. The next coach must capitalize on that momentum or Houston risks falling back towards the rest of the pack in G5 conferences. Many Houston fans will feel hurt and betrayed by Herman’s departure, but it is misplaced rage. Houston, like all other G5 programs, has a role. That role is to give coaches a platform for the next job. It is a sign of success if schools like Texas are sniffing around. It is hard to find an elite coach willing to stick around a G5 program for a decade. Houston should understand this and use it to become the place for upcoming coaches to earn pedigree. The program benefits with exposure, wins and buy-out money. Running Roadrunners UTSA reached its first ever bowl game with a thumping victory at home over Charlotte in Frank Wilson’s first season as a head coach. The former LSU running backs coach was labeled an ace recruiter during his tenure in Baton Rouge. In one season in San Antonio, Wilson proved he his much more than a recruiter. Wilson inherited a team with virtually no depth on the offensive line and a former walk-on at quarterback and he led that group to a 6-6 record with very few changes on the roster. It was a masterful job and a historic moment for a young Roadrunners program. A lot of fans gripe at the amount of bowl games. Go ask UTSA’s players and coaches if there are too many bowl opportunities. Poor year for the Power Five The five P5 teams in Texas combined for a 30-28 record and none finished above .500 in conference play (there is a week left for Baylor and TCU, but still). Houston was the only G5 program in the state to finish the year with a winning record. Outside of 6-6 UTSA, the other five FBS programs not in P5 conferences failed to reach .500. North Texas might get a bowl invitation based on APR. It was a rough year across the board, but especially for the big boys. One Question How much money would it take for you to deal with the mess currently at Baylor? According to reports, SMU head coach Chad Morris is cooling on the gig and only one commit from the 2017 class remains verbally pledged to be a Baylor Bear. The 2016 recruiting class was essentially washed out due to so many transfers. It’s a tough gig and Baylor might be forced to break the bank or settle for a coach without much head coaching experience. The other option is an older coach trying to wrap up his career. Either way, the new coach will have a three- to four-year rebuilding project. One Prediction The Dallas Cowboys reach a Super Bowl because the rest of the NFC isn’t good.

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