What it took for FAU to lure Tom Herman back to college football | D'Angelo

BOCA RATON — Tom Herman was in the press box at North Texas on Labor Day weekend, preparing for his first assignment as an analyst for CBS Sports, when he felt something tugging on his heart.

First, it was seeing the students file into the stadium. Then, the band and the cheerleaders. Finally, the pregame rituals all college football teams go through.

Soon the emotions were coming out in the form of texts to his wife, Michelle.

"I'm getting goose bumps," one read.

"I miss college football," he typed in another.

More coverage: Why FAU football was 'total package' for Tom Herman's coaching return

More: 3 things to know about FAU football's hiring of former Texas head coach Tom Herman

None of those messages surprised Michelle, who was at the family home in Austin, Texas, just waiting for reality to set in for her husband of 21 years.

In fact, her reaction was kind of ho-hum. She knew it was coming sooner or later.

"I said, 'Yeah, I know. Duh,'" she told The Palm Beach Post Friday after her husband had been introduced as the head football coach at Florida Atlantic University.

Michelle Herman knew where her husband belonged, and what he truly missed. Long before he did.

So did FAU Athletic Director Brian White.

FAU gets its main man

Herman was White's first choice, and the only coach to be offered the job, after Willie Taggart was fired a week ago following the Owls' second consecutive 5-7 season. And this isn't Auburn AD John Cohen trying to fool everyone by trying to convince us Hugh Freeze was his first choice.

We didn't just fall off the Lane Train.

White was decisive and got his man. The Palm Beach Post learned Herman signed a five-year deal with a base salary, not including performance bonuses, reportedly averaging around $1.2 million per year.

And by acting fast he stole Herman from other suitors, most notably future American Athletic Conference rival South Florida.

White has not been perfect with his hires (see: Taggart). No AD is. But this one he got right.

Herman, 47, is a proven winner. Even when fired from Texas, he was winning. He made Houston a Group of Five power going 22-4 in two years. He was 32-18 with four consecutive bowl wins and three consecutive top 25 finishes at Texas.

And the Longhorns' offense was 19th nationally in Herman's final year.

Steve Sarkisian, Herman's replacement in Austin, is 13-11 in two years and considered the apple of the Eyes of Texas. Sark's team could complete a second consecutive year unranked in the final poll.

Texas' offense was 47th in the country in Sarkisian's first year and currently is No. 36.

White said Herman checked "every box we could have possibly thought needed to be checked. He's a proven winner."

Herman has won 71% of his games, which puts him among the top 20 winningest active coaches.

White and Herman have a vision, similar to the one Brian's brother, Danny, had at UCF when the Knights' then-AD hired Scott Frost and Josh Heupel. We all know what happened with three consecutive 10-plus win seasons, including 13-0 and a, ahem, national title in 2017.

That success has taken UCF from the AAC to the Power Five, where it soon will join the Big 12.

See the parallel?

And this climb is not lost on those occupying FAU's new $72 million football facility (Schmidt Complex), which outshines many from Power Five schools.

"It is extremely important for the trajectory of our program," Herman said about FAU's move to the AAC, which will be official on July 1. "You've seen schools follow this road map" to success.

Herman made sure to not get ahead of his (water) skis just yet.

"I don't want to put the cart before the horse by any stretch of the imagination," he continued. "We got to crawl before we walk, walk before we run, run before we sprint."

But that sprint could include an end around to the top. And if that happens, it will be because of the vision and infrastructure that lured Herman to, as he said several times Friday, "paradise."

Herman not only praised White and his vision, he's blown away by the facilities — imagine saying that about FAU a dozen years ago — including an on-campus stadium. And then there's the school sitting in the middle of a fertile recruiting ground.

All of that had Herman pulling out the Howard Schnellenberger card and talking about winning championships when he met with his team Thursday night.

"We are not going to shy away from the word championship," Herman said. "That is a word that needs to be said around here and that needs to be the goal. This is not a rebuild. I hate that word. I don't know what it means."

He then added: "This is a program that in my opinion is this close." He held thumb and index finger about a centimeter apart.

Kiffin set the blueprint

That optimism is possible because of a recent football hire, one similar (although not entirely) to bringing in Herman.

After eight consecutive non-winning seasons, FAU brought in an offensive-minded coach in 2017 who had been fired from a blue-blood program and then worked as an assistant. Herman was an offensive analyst for the Chicago Bears for a year after being fired at Texas.

All Lane Kiffin did was lead FAU to the two best seasons in its history — the Owls were 11-2 in 2017 and 2019 — and two conference titles.

And we all know that happened after that third year with Kiffin parlaying that success into an SEC job at Ole Miss.

"I'm in a little bit different place in my life in terms of looking beyond this job," Herman said when asked about Kiffin's career path.

White did not enter this search worrying about hiring someone who would use FAU as a stepping stone. After all, if Brian Kelly can bolt Notre Dame for more money at LSU, any school is vulnerable.

"You want your coaches to have the most success as possible," White said. "You know when they have a ton of success they may have other opportunities. That's just the world we live in.

"We understand the reality of college athletics and we understand everybody that has a lot of success may have other options."

Right now, the only option at FAU is winning ... but do not call it a rebuild.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tom Herman looking to replicate Texas success with FAU football