Yes, this is going to be a story about football. That’s what we do here at AAC Fever.
But before getting into that, we should take a moment to acknowledge the horrible situation going on in Waco, Texas. The sexual assault investigations go far beyond anything on the football field. We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact there are numerous sexual assault victims whose lives were changed forever.
A fact that also shouldn’t be lost in all of this is the failure of Baylor University and its athletic department to properly report and investigate these assaults. An outside law firm hired to look into this matter wrote: “The choices made by football staff and athletics leadership, in some instances, posed a risk to campus safety and the integrity of the University.”
This week that led to sweeping changes at Baylor, including the demotion of President Kenneth Starr, the resignation of Athletic Director Ian McCaw, and the firing of football coach Art Briles. The moves were very controversial, and will have a ripple effect on the school for years to come.
That being said, there is a football part to this story. Nearly 100 young men’s lives have also changed. They have lost the football coach they chose to play for. Because this isn’t an NCAA-sanctioned firing, transfer rules don’t apply here like they did during the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky situation.
Baylor is looking for a new coach. It appeared defensive coordinator Phil Bennett would take over this season, but Baylor hired former Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe and gave him the “interim” tag. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
And here is where the AAC, and Houston’s Tom Herman, comes in. It took a matter of minutes after the announcement of Briles’ firing for social media rumors to fly about Herman leaving Houston and going to Waco. Do a quick Google search of “Tom Herman Baylor” and you will see several stories calling Herman a candidate to replace Briles.
There’s a pretty good reason for that – Herman would be a perfect fit.
Before you start throwing things at the screen, just think about it. Herman, in just one season at Houston, has already established himself as a polished head coach. He has everything Baylor would want and need on the field: a great offensive system, a winning pedigree, and proven results. Not only that, but look at how Herman is recruiting Texas. This past week he landed a top quarterback recruit out of Tyler, Texas, who is seen as the eventual replacement for Greg Ward, Jr.
Herman also brings a hard-nosed style and attitude to coaching that would immediately resonate with Baylor players and recruits who could be thinking about abandoning Waco.
And that’s just on the field. Off it, which is where Baylor has a public relations nightmare, Herman is the guy. Since being hired at Houston, Herman has become the face of the Cougars’ program; making visits across the state, engaging the Houston community and becoming a part of it. And when you talk to players, they all say Herman is a character guy; meaning he demands and expects more from his players than just on-the-field accomplishments. He believes championships aren’t simply won on the scoreboard. It’s that kind of attitude and character Baylor desperately needs because the program has become a sad joke to the rest of the country. BU doesn’t need someone to come in and continue the success on the field, it needs a head coach to resurrect the program’s image and integrity. Herman could do that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZEp2VvC_J0
But, and hopefully you assumed there would be a but, this is never going to happen.
Would you choose to run into a burning building? Would you jump into a pool of piranhas? Those are wild hyperboles, but it’s pretty much what the next head coach at Baylor faces. Not that Herman couldn’t handle it, but why would he choose to?
Tom Herman has a great thing going on in Houston. In just one season he put the Cougars back on the map and on an upward trajectory. Last season the Coogs won a conference championship and demolished a traditional powerhouse in a New Year’s Six bowl game. This season the Cougars are already in the conversation as a potential College Football Player “spoiler.” And looking forward, Herman and his staff are landing huge recruits; plus there is a decent chance Houston will end up in a Power 5 conference sooner or later.
Plus, Herman already turned down an offer from South Carolina. If he didn’t want the challenge of the SEC, why would anyone think he would go to Baylor – where he would be walking into an extremely unstable situation?
Baylor will get themselves a good head coach. After all, the team has had a lot of recent success and there is still talent on that roster. Plus, BU is in the Big 12 and in the state of Texas, both of which make the program attractive. While Baylor is certainly not at the level of Penn State as a program, not many people thought PSU would land a coach like Bill O’Brien in the wake of the Sandusky scandal.
So while this sad and unfortunate situation unfolds Baylor will still play football, and we will watch to see who will come in and take over for Art Briles. It just won’t be Tom Herman.
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