AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Tom Herman smiled, raised his right hand for the “Hook’em Horns” sign and said all the right things Sunday to fire up the fan base as the new Texas coach.
All of that was to be expected. Now comes the hard parts: winning, competing for a Big 12 title and navigating the treacherous landscape both on and off the field of Longhorns football.
Herman landed on the Texas campus Sunday to turn around a program worn down by three consecutive losing seasons under Charlie Strong. In Herman, Texas President Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin hired arguably the hottest young coach in college football away from Houston.
“We will win championships,” at Texas, Herman said, sounding the key note his new fans want to hear.
Herman lifted Houston with winning and public persona that pledged an “H-town takeover.” He now inherits a Texas program laboring to return to the national elite. And he’ll have to sooth some hurt feelings among the talented but young players who had pleaded a week earlier for Strong to stay. Among them was junior running back D’Onta Foreman, who rushed for 2,028 yards and is considering turning pro.