Regardless of how the Texas Longhorns conclude a disappointing regular season in Friday’s game against Texas Tech, followed by a mandatory appearance in the Tidy Bowl or its equivalent, there is no denying that football coach Tom Herman has lost all of the momentum – and much of the fan support – that his program carried into a season that began with a Top 10 ranking and Big 12 title hopes.
Now saddled with a 6-5 mark and faced with the possibility of posting a losing record on the heels of last year’s 10-win season, Herman did not mince words at his Monday news conference when he acknowledged that he is in “big-time evaluation mode” about the direction of the program going forward. Win or lose against the Red Raiders (4-7), Herman made it clear that changes are coming this offseason in terms of players, assistant coaches, schemes … You name it, and it’s on Tom’s fix-it list.
“I’ve done a poor job,” Herman said about his team’s weekly preparations during what will be the Horns’ ninth season with five or more losses in this decade. “The buck stops with me. We’ll evaluate everything.”
Seriously, why wait? Nothing substantial is going to change regardless of Friday’s outcome in Austin. For the Longhorns, this is a lost season – Herman’s second in three years at the helm of a blueblood program with lots of deep-pocketed boosters who detest mediocrity.
The coach who preceded him, Charlie Strong, was shown the door after his third consecutive losing season (2014-2016) to create this opportunity for Herman. And, in a delicious irony, Strong projects to be the opposing coach when South Florida comes to Austin on Sept. 5 to open a 2020 season in which Herman’s job status will be a source of significant speculation.
What can Herman do between now and September to quiet the masses, right the ship, and avoid getting embarrassed by Charlie Strong’s team to start next year’s make-or-break season? Here is a Five-Step Program that Herman should follow, starting ASAP:
1, Hire Chad Morris, former Arkansas and SMU coach, as the Offensive Coordinator and play-caller. Sure, Morris was fired in less than two seasons in Fayetteville, where he tried to run a spread offense with personnel recruited by Bret Bielema, his ground-and-pound predecessor. That transformation would have required years, which Morris was not given.
But anywhere Morris has been able to match his personnel’s skills to his passing schemes, he has thrived (SMU, Clemson, Austin Lake Travis High School, Stephenville High School). Morris, who coached undefeated state champions at Lake Travis in 2008 and 2009, did his career-defining work at Clemson. For the Tigers, he recruited quarterback Deshaun Watson and installed an offense that fashioned a 42-11 record with Morris as the play-caller. Using the same system, Clemson has gone on to win the 2016 and 2018 national titles.
Watson, who remains close to Morris, now quarterbacks the NFL’s Houston Texans. You’d think that Watson-Morris connection would provide a nice recruiting magnet for luring talented Texas high school quarterbacks to Austin (Hey, they can’t ALL go to Clemson). Morris clearly is several cuts above current OC Tim Beck, who is in the final year of his contract and was stripped of his play calling-duties by Herman in the latter stages of the 2018 season. Morris would be an upgrade as both a QBs coach and a play caller.
It also would bring closure to a move that was poised to happen six years ago, according to Texas sources familiar with the negotiations. Morris was Strong’s first choice to be his offensive coordinator when he took over for Mack Brown in 2014, but Morris’ $1.3 million price tag was deemed too costly for then-AD Steve Patterson. Texas wound up hiring the overmatched Shawn Watson, whose offenses have been a failed bit at multiple career stops. Lots of sliding down the offensive rabbit hole ensued in Austin. With Morris, Herman can bring things full circle and place the play-calling duties into capable hands.
2, Hire Dave Aranda from LSU as the Defensive Coordinator. Without question, this would be expensive. But most good things are. Aranda’s contract runs through 2021 and pays him $2.5 million per year. Aranda and Herman were college teammates and roommates at Cal Lutheran. Before finalizing his first staff at Texas, Herman tried to land Aranda but could not do so. With the Longhorns’ defense in full-blown retreat mode under current DC Todd Orlando, it’s time to clear a spot on the staff and make another run at Aranda, who has the LSU defense on a collision course with an SEC title and a CFP playoff berth this season.
If Aranda cannot be pried away from LSU, two other young defensive coordinators making significant strides this season are Utah’s Morgan Scalley and Minnesota’s Joe Rossi. Both schools feature Top 10 defenses, based on yards allowed, and both teams are one victory away from playing in their league’s conference championship games in Power 5 leagues. Utah (10-1) ranks third nationally in total defense. Minnesota (10-1) is 10th. At the very least, both coaches’ resumes reflect an upgrade in pedigree from Orlando, who made his reputation at Houston, a non-Power 5 school.
Heading into Friday’s game against Tech, Orlando’s troops have allowed opponents to convert 40 percent of the time on third down, including a whopping 46.7 percent in home games. Texas’ third-down defensive struggles have played a major role in the team’s backslide from last year’s 10-4 record.
3, Pull the plug on the personal TVs in each player’s locker and outlaw other opulent trappings in the football facility. Yes, school officials have already paid an outrageous $8,700 each for state-of-the-art, glow-in-the-dark lockers with personal television screens for each player. Those were installed in 2017, presumably to provide an edge in recruiting. But that does not mean you have to let the players turn on the TVs. Until on-field efforts improve, unplug the personal TVs and minimize access to other opulent finish-outs in the football facility. Create some hunger in players instead of making them feel entitled at every turn. The last time Texas won a Big 12 championship in 2009, there were no personal TVs and no glow-in-the-dark lockers. A more spartan approach should lead to a better work ethic.
4, Sign multiple instant-impact offensive linemen. This offensive line needs meaningful depth and an immediate influx of plug-and-play talent. Coaches must lure some junior-college or graduate transfers, preferably in time for spring drills. Texas does not have a consistently productive ground game and has allowed the most sacks of any Big 12 team (32) despite having a mobile quarterback in Sam Ehlinger. There is some young talent in the offensive line, but quality depth is lacking.
5, Find an impact RB via the transfer portal. Texas will close the regular season Friday without getting a single carry from freshman running back Jordan Whittington, a five-star signee who has not returned to action since having September surgery for a sports hernia. For the second consecutive year, sophomore Keontay Ingram has been inconsistent and prone to disappearing for long stretches in games. To turn up the competition in the running back room, as well as take some of the ground-game load of Ehlinger in 2020, the Longhorns desperately need to find a polished, graduate transfer RB via the transfer portal. Ideally, they can land a player along the lines of Cal transfer Tre Watson, the Longhorns’ leading rusher in 2018 (786 yards, 3 TDs). Texas could use both the production and the leadership at the position.
