Did Tom Herman pull petty move against his former school?
Jul 16, 2019; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman speaks to the media during Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Did Tom Herman pull a petty move against his former school? That’s what many Texas fans think.
Texas was ranked No. 4 in the final AFCA Coaches Poll. But Herman, who coached at Texas from 2017-2020, had the Longhorns ranked sixth. He had Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama and Florida State all ranked ahead of the Longhorns.
Former #Texas HC Tom Herman left the #Longhorns out of the top 5 in his final coaches poll…
What do y’all think of his decision? pic.twitter.com/JWOgBOOvCH
— Brad Kellner (Texas Sports Unfiltered) (@BradKellner) January 10, 2024
Texas fans took note of the ranking and posted about it on the X platform.
Tom Herman ranked Texas 6th in his final coaches poll vote. Had the Longhorns behind Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama and Florida State.
— HornSports (@HornSports) January 10, 2024
Herman is now the head coach at Florida Atlantic.
Some Longhorns fans think that Herman is bitter and holding a grudge against his former school. But his ranking of Texas is completely defensible. Not only that, but Herman wasn’t the only person to rank Texas below fourth.
Former Syracuse head coach Dino Babers also had Texas ranked 6th. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi ranked Texas 7th. Terry Bowden, Kyle Whittingham and Rick Stockstill had the Longhorns ranked 8th.
Georgia was great in the regular season and destroyed Florida State in their bowl game. The Bulldogs had fewer losses than Texas, so it’s very reasonable to put them ahead of the Longhorns. Florida State also had just the one loss in their bowl game, and that came with half their roster skipping the game.
The rankings are subjective, and Herman’s rankings are very defensible. He wasn’t even close to the only coach to have Texas jumbled in with the other 2-loss programs.
