10 potential jobs Tom Herman could leave Houston for
Just about every program in the country could benefit from hiring Tom Herman, but where might he end up?
While there’s still plenty of time left in the 2016 college football regular season, it’s never too early to start thinking about the offseason coaching carousel.
Last year’s rendition brought plenty of drama, as 29 programs made coaching changes between the start of 2015 and 2016. There were a few surprises along the way, including USC removing the interim tag from Clay Helton and Mark Richt being fired from Georgia only to land at Miami.
Even with all the chaos, the top coaching candidate on the market stayed put. Despite receiving a few offers from Power Five schools, Tom Herman chose to remain with the Houston Cougars for at least the 2016 season.
Herman helped Ohio State to the 2014 national title as offensive coordinator and has so far done a terrific job in his first tenure as a head coach. Houston went 13-1 a year ago with a win over Florida State in the Peach Bowl, is in contention for the playoff early on this year, and pulled in an excellent recruiting class that includes phenom defensive tackle, Ed Oliver.
Once again, Herman will be at the top of every program with a vacancy’s wishlist. While there’s too much time left in the season to determine which coaches will be fired, some intriguing jobs like LSU and USC could be open.
The most likely option is for Herman to remain at Houston, particularly if the Cougars get a Big 12 invite, but these 10 jobs could potentially lure him away.
10. Baylor Bears
While there’s no doubt Baylor would love to have Herman aboard, there’s only a minuscule chance that interest would be reciprocated.
The Bears fired very successful coach Art Briles in May for his failure to address multiple allegations of violence against women on campus. Given the toxic nature of the program and the possibility of NCAA punishment, a coach of Herman’s caliber is probably not going to come anywhere near Baylor.
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Still, Baylor is a major program that will be in the market for a coach unless Jim Grobe does something special with the team this season. Herman could certainly run his offense with high-level recruits at Baylor, and perhaps he would prefer a place with lower expectations for his first Power Five job.
The Bears are also going to open the pocketbook for their next coach, although they couldn’t outbid someone like LSU or Texas. Herman is very unlikely to go to Baylor, but crazy things happen on the coaching carousel every offseason.