Fansided

5 jobs Tom Herman definitely isn’t taking

By John Buhler

Sep 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman walks onto the field prior to the game against Lamar at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman walks onto the field prior to the game against Lamar at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn reacts with his wife Kristi Malzahn after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan Hare Stadium. Texas A&M defeated Aubrn 29-16. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn reacts with his wife Kristi Malzahn after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan Hare Stadium. Texas A&M defeated Aubrn 29-16. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Auburn Tigers

Like USC, the Auburn Tigers athletic department doesn’t know what it’s doing. Athletic director Jay Jacobs gave underwhelming head coach Gus Malzahn a five-year contract extension in a year that everybody else would have put him on the hot seat.

Malzahn’s offensive gimmick of ‘hurry-up-and-run’ has become stale in the SEC. All 14 SEC defensive coordinators have seen enough tape of the Malzahn/Rhett Lashlee offense to render it useless. Auburn seems to have found a great defensive coordinator in Kevin Steele, but Malzahn’s time down on The Plains might be coming to an end here shortly.

If the Auburn job opens up, would Herman consider becoming the new head coach of the Tigers? He would consider it, but would realize the limitations that come from coaching Auburn in the SEC.

Herman isn’t going to take a job at a Little Brother school like Auburn. No matter what he does in Auburn, it will never measure up to what Nick Saban is doing at Tuscaloosa with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Joining the SEC might be intriguing for Herman, but LSU or an SEC East school are better jobs than Auburn. The Tigers don’t land the best talent in the SEC year after year. Proximity to Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State doesn’t really give Auburn a big recruiting base to pull from.

If Herman joins an SEC East school, he might be the best head coach in that division. However, he would have stiff competition in the SEC West: Saban at Alabama, Bret Bielema at Arkansas, Les Miles at LSU, Dan Mullen at Mississippi State, Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss, and Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M.

Herman could definitely hold his own as the next head coach at Auburn University. Then again, rebuilding an Auburn program in the SEC West in 2017 may not bode well for a first-time Power 5 head coach.

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