Former Longhorns head football coach has hot seat with hell-like temperature at first FBS job since Texas

Former Longhorns head football coach Tom Herman has a hot seat a lot closer to hell than paradise at FAU, his first job since Texas fired him in 2021. College Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson believes Owls AD Brian White’s enthusiasm upon Herman’s arrival will be famous first words as the two are saying their last words in Boca Raton.

“When the Florida Atlantic Owls fired Willie Taggart following the 2022 season, Athletic Director Brian White blamed ‘the lack of on-field success’ shown by the program during his tenure. Hiring Tom Herman in December 2022, he enthused about his winning pedigree while reiterating his belief that ‘he can be tremendously successful at FAU.’ Two years later, those words return to haunt White,” Hodgkinson wrote.

“Taggart compiled a .455 record with the Owls, winning 15 of 33 games. After slumping to an overtime defeat to the Temple Owls, Herman holds a .272 record from his 22 games. He has led the program to just six wins, and the latest loss to a poor AAC opponent is likely to be viewed as an embarrassment by anyone with connections to the program. Herman went 4-8 in his first year with a 3-5 conference record, an excusable transition as a new coach looked to mold his team while playing in a new conference. However, in a weaker AAC in 2024, they’re now 0-6 in conference play and staring down their worst season since 2016. Paradise? With the temperature on his college football hot seat, Herman might feel a little closer to hell.”

Losing to Temple is as bad a loss as it gets in the FBS. For FAU to be the worst owls in the country, worse than even Rice, is perhaps the most damning fact of all. Florida Atlantic took a loss in Houston last November.

Tom Herman may have to wait a long time before getting another head coaching job

Herman is a University of Texas at Austin alum. Being fired is as brutal of a reality as he could face in his career. His next step is probably not a head coaching job. Catching on as an offensive coordinator will have to do.

Perhaps Kennesaw State could give him a look in the offseason after firing Brian Bohannon after Week 11.