Less than a week after Tom Herman assured everyone that Sam Ehlinger wouldn’t do “that” again (“that” being an excruciatingly, situationally stupid interception), he did it again.  The soul-crushing interception Ehlinger threw with 2:06 to play was a high school mistake that makes you wonder when he is going to realize he’s not at Westlake anymore. Though, I suppose it’s fitting that the quarterback of a high school offense—and I’m being generous here—is making high school mistakes.  Ehlinger could have been saved from the infamy of throwing the game away by a coaching staff smart enough not to call a pass play when you’re leading by three, with 2:06 to play, on third and two, from your opponent’s 37-yard line, when your opponent has no timeouts. Run any kind of running play and assuming you don’t fumble or run out of bounds, the worst thing that can happen is you punt on fourth down and leave Texas Tech with at best a first and ten on their 20 with a minute left to play and no timeouts. Shouldn’t it be a baseline expectation that this coaching staff understands situational football?

The interception wasn’t the only reason Texas lost to Texas Tech, a team coming into the game with Big 12 conference wins against only Baylor and Kansas. Texas ran eight plays inside Texas Tech’s three-yard-line for a net minus one yard. Let that sink in.

It’s like our worst fears realized. Offensive-minded and most cherished hire Tom Herman produces a 6-6 record in his first season with an offense that finished #57 nationally in total offense. Herman came to Austin with swagger and bravado and made sure the UT public relations machine informed the fan base that the Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility was immaculately painted and outfitted with $8,700 lockers under his leadership. He exits the regular season visibly shaken in his Texas Tech post-game press conference.

In his Monday press conference after the Iowa State game, Herman was asked if he was happy with his offensive coaching staff. His first reaction was to feign not understanding the question—and then feigning further puzzlement, he said, “Interesting question.”  Yes, it is, but don’t expect Herman to make any major changes to his offensive staff. On more than one occasion over the course of the season, he has stressed the importance of staff continuity for player development and pointed out the lack of it before his arrival.  If Herman doesn’t shake up his offensive staff, we’ll find out how effective continuity is for continuity’s sake.

A cautionary tale for Herman is Charlie Strong sticking with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson after the 2014 season, even though the offense had finished #113 out of 128 nationally.  That included a school-record low of 59 yards total offense against Arkansas in the Texas Bowl. Strong demoted Watson after the first game of the 2015 season against Notre Dame, when Texas scored only three points with 160 yards of total offense.

Tom Herman needs to understand that although he’s led the program for only one year, the patience of the Longhorn fan base for bad offense and six win seasons is exhausted. After the Texas Tech game, Herman’s grace period is over.

Parting Shot

How much involvement does Herman have with the defense?

Hook ‘Em,

W.E.