Michigan and Texas Football are Missing the Road Back to Greatness

Today I want to talk about two different college football teams, and their head coaching situations. One is Texas, and the other is Michigan. I will save Michigan for last because that is my school, my team, and I have some strong, and anger, towards how Jim Harbaugh is handling that mess.

First let’s talk about Texas. I am surprised, but maybe I shouldn't be, that they fired Tom Herman. Yes, they never met expectations, they were always a perennial top 10 team and would go on to win 6 to 8 games and then play in a lower tier bowl. Herman did not deliver Texas back to the promised land their fanbase had hoped. But, he was only there for, I think, three years. That is not really a long enough time to get the program on his terms. I felt like they didn't give Charlie Strong enough time, but Herman was there as long as him, so maybe this is what Texas does now. Herman also recruited fairly well, had good players coming in, but this past season, I guess to the big wigs, wasn't enough for him to keep his job. Again, surprising, but not really when you break it down. Texas is a blueblood. They are football in that state. I'd go as far to say that the Longhorns are more important than the Cowboys. Full stop. And the team was just not good enough. They weren't winning the Big 12. They couldn't keep up with Oklahoma. They were losing early season non conference games that they had no business not winning. Texas was, and still is, trending down. That is not good enough for them.

Also, I do not think that hiring Steve Sarkisian is going to solve the problem. Does Texas not remember his time as head coach of Washington? Or when he was the OC for the Falcons? It was a disaster. Some people will say he did great at USC, and Alabama's offense this season is top of the line, but look at the talent discrepancy. I could call plays for Alabama, and definitely that USC team he was the OC on, and we'd average 40 plus points a game. USC back in the early 2000's, and Alabama now, they get the best of the best. They always have the top talent. Third stringers on those teams would start on almost any other D-1, power 5, top 25 team. That's the truth. Sarkisian will not have that at his expense at Texas. He will have to go out and do the recruiting himself, and the kids he will go after, a lot of them will choose Alabama or the university of Ohio State and Clemson before even thinking about Texas. Hell, they will have to fight Oklahoma just within their conference. While firing Herman was a surprise, hiring Sarkisian makes even less sense to me. But maybe he will work out, who knows.

Now on to Michigan. This whole situation is an absolute mess, and Jim Harbaugh is the only person to blame. I wasn't on board when Michigan hired him, grew to like him very much, even without living up to his own personal expectations, and now what he is doing, just dragging everyone along while openly looking for an NFL job, it is just, quite frankly, embarrassing and annoying. It is so frustrating that he is dragging his feet, not signing the extension that has been on the table for over a week now and not telling anyone what he plans on doing. His players, his assistants, even AD Warde Manuel has no idea what he is going to do, and that is wrong. Everyone has done anything and everything he has wanted since they hired him in 2014. They have bent over backwards to his every whim, and this is how he decides to handle himself. It is gross. People get so mad at players for transferring every year when they don't play, but applaud coaches when they wait out their own college team for an NFL opening. That is wrong. Coaches can leave whenever they want, no matter how unsuccessful or successful they are, and no one bats an eye. But, if a player transfers after one season, without knowing anything about that kid, the media and coaches will destroy that kid. That is the upsetting part.

The real personal problem with me, I want Harbaugh back as Michigan's head coach this upcoming season. I don't think the options on the table are any better. I think if they make a change they will be back to a full rebuild, a full culture change. They will lose a ton of players to transfers. I think a lot of this solid recruiting class they have will ask out, and rightfully so. It would be a total letdown if Harbaugh continues to wait and wait and wait. I also do not know that the NFL is necessarily breaking down doors to get to him, but I imagine there are talks going on, which is going to make this never ending extension situation drag out longer and longer. If he doesn't sign the extension with Michigan by tomorrow, I fully believe he is going to leave for either the Jets or Chargers job, and leave Michigan an even bigger mess than when Lloyd Carr was all but forced to retire. Warde Manuel, the coaches still on staff and players are all waiting, but Harbaugh seems fully content to just sit and make them wait even longer, until he has exhausted any and all other options. That is wrong, but damn it, I hope he returns. That is my own nonsense that I have to work through.

These two schools, which were once great, and are now not, are going in separate directions, but I feel like both are going to end up in the same spot, the middle.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Tom Herman is the Problem at Texas

I know it may seem trite and gripey and me just flat out complaining, and also pointless given where we are as a country, a complete and utter mess, but why are no people in the sports media right now thrashing Tom Herman for underachieving at Texas?

Ever since Herman took over for Charlie Strong, who is a fine coach and never got a fair shot there, everyone expected him to bring Texas football back. He was supposed to be the savior. He was a successful coordinator at the University of Ohio State, he did a wonderful job at, I believe it was Houston, and he parlayed that into becoming the head coach at a major, historic football university. But every year since he has been there he has, for all intents and purposes, not done any better than Charlie Strong did. Texas always seems to show up in the preseason top 10 since Herman took over, and they always seem to be totally out of the top 25, or in the mid 20's after four weeks. I fully understand that this year is way, way different than any other college football season in over 100 years, and there are many excuses to go around, but this happened last year at Texas. It also happened the year before that. And Herman's first year, they struggled to make a bowl, and barely beat Missouri. Herman has not been the savior.

I get that these things take time too. He has to recruit his players, install his system and get players and boosters to buy in. But that all seemed to happen, at least behind the scenes. But every year Texas loses early on to a team that has no real business being on the same field with them. The past two seasons it was Maryland. Maryland is a middling Big Ten team, but they put it on Texas two years in a row, one of the games being in Texas. Texas also got beat by LSU, also in Texas, last season. Now, LSU did go on to win the title, and Joe Burrow won the Heisman, but this was before we knew what LSU was to become last year. Then this year they have struggled mightily in their last three games. They needed overtime to beat a not very good Texas Tech school. They also gave up 56 points to Tech. Tech only scored 17 last week at Iowa State. Then TCU beat them. TCU is okay, but they aren't the world beaters they were a few years back. And last weekend they needed a miracle comeback, aided by refs miscues, just to get to overtime with a 1-2 Oklahoma team, and they still got beat in the 4th overtime, again surrendering over 50 points. Texas now sits at 2-2 and out of the rankings yet again. But when I check sports news, which is the only way I am currently keeping my sanity, no one is calling for Herman to be fired, calling him a bad coach, saying he isn't fit for the job. It seems like most people are making excuses for him still, in year four.

Now, I am a tried and true Michigan fan and the media has been trashing Jim Harbaugh from day one. Maybe I notice this more because I read mostly Big Ten sites and news, but even on a ESPN or Bleacher Report of Sports Illustrated, Harbaugh is always dragged through the mud when the Wolverines play like Texas does. So why does a guy like Herman get a pass, but Harbaugh gets roasted constantly? Herman isn't quiet. He is quite loud and quite the trash talker. But the big media outlets call him "fiery" for this. Harbaugh does the same thing, and he is labeled "crazy". I don't get it. Also, Harbaugh took over a much worse off Michigan team, and has turned them into an okay team. They have won 10 games three times, 8 another and 9 last year. Texas was better off than Michigan when Herman took over. Charlie Strong may not have won enough games to keep his job and make the boosters happy, but he could recruit. And they were still going to bowl games. Herman had a team, he just had to mold it. Harbaugh had a defense, but he had to totally retool an offense that had zero identity. But when the Wolverines and Harbaugh needed overtime to beat Army last year, the media dragged him and Shea Patterson. Texas needed overtime to beat a much worse Tech team this year, and the media called it "gutsy". Michigan hasn't beaten the University of Ohio State in a decade, and the media never lets me or the rest of the Michigan fanbase forget that. But how many times has Texas beat Oklahoma in that time? Three times, only once under Herman, and all three were considered "upsets". But because Oklahoma doesn't blow them out, the media seems to give Herman a pass. All the while, people like Paul Finebaum and Lee Corso go on TV and roast the hell out of Harbaugh every year. I know this sounds whiny and I'm being a huge fan boy right now, but the media, especially the big time companies, are supposed to be unbiased and rip everyone equally. The fact that Herman gets a pass, but Harbaugh gets dragged is so far beyond me. I would much, much rather have Jim Harbaugh as my team's head coach, and I wasn't fully on board when they hired him. But at least he has made Michigan semi relevant, if not a title contender.

Texas is, quite possibly, the most overrated college football team in the country, and I think a lot of that has to do with the media's unrequited love for Tom Herman. I don't know, it just seems a little ridiculous that Herman gets a pass and Harbaugh doesn't. That's my opinion. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Charlie Strong is the Best Coach for Texas

This longhorn still stands by strong

Yesterday I wrote about a college football coach, and today, I am going to do the same. Today, I want to tackle this whole Charlie Strong and Texas situation. I have heard a lot of people, most of the national sports media, calling for Strong's head since Texas got beat by Kansas last week. In fact, people have been saying he was going to get fired as early as the middle of last year.

I am on the opposite end of everyone else. I feel like Charlie Strong is one of the few coaches that I would give the full 4 or 5 year rebuild time to. First off, Texas made Mack Brown resign so they could hire Charlie Strong three years ago. Strong did wonderful things as the defensive coordinator at Florida, and was even better as a head coach at Louisville. He turned Teddy Bridgewater into a great QB. He had that defense at, or near, the top of most defensive stats. He had them in perennial BCS contention. He did a great job at Louisville. Then, after Texas forced out Brown, I was very pleasantly surprised that they went out and hired Charlie Strong. He was the best available candidate, and he got one of the best jobs in all of college football.

When Brown left, the cupboard was kind of bare. Brown was getting into that Les Miles area, where the college game had passed him by. His last few Texas teams were not world beaters like when they had Colt McCoy and Vince Young. They were treading water, going 8-4 or 9-3. They were okay, but not as good as their fans and boosters thought. Strong was brought in to bring a new toughness and a faster and better offense and defense. But, he had to recruit his style of player. Texas was a pro style type offense, and Strong ran a spread type offense. The players there his first year did not fit what he wanted to do.

And in his first season, they struggled. It wasn't as bad as Rich Rodriguez's first year at Michigan, but it wasn't that good either. After that first year, people thought, okay, one bad year, we can handle that, but they should be better in Strong's second season. Well, they made a bowl, but barely. They did not look great, but they did look better and more disciplined. That is one thing I really like about Strong. He does not take any of these kids crap, and let's not get it twisted, these are children. If people mouthed off at him and his staff, he suspended them. If they didn't get grades, he suspended them. If they did something unlawful, he kicked them off the team. He did not care how good, or how highly rated of a recruit that kid was, if they screwed up, he held them accountable. I really appreciate and respect that.

The fans and boosters did not care for this. They did not like his no-nonsense attitude, especially when it meant losing out on big time recruits. That is the problem, fans and boosters are irrational. And, when the people making the choices for coaching jobs start to listen to fans and boosters more than the actual staff, that is when stupid decisions are made. That is when the higher ups get a bit irrational themselves.

This most recent season saw Texas start out much better. They beat Notre Dame on opening weekend. That win wasn't as big as it seemed at the time, but Texas was back on the map. They went all the way up to 11 in the rankings. Then, they rolled off 2 more wins, but eventually came back down to Earth, losing a few in a row, and it all culminated at Kansas last week.

I will say that some of Strong's recruits have been pretty good this year. Texas still does not have a viable QB. They have one QB that is a great read option guy, and another that is a better passing threat. But, both guys are not upper echelon. Texas does have one of the best running backs in college though, in D'Onta Foreman. Foreman is incredible. He has been running all over people. He has been the one guy for Texas that seems like a he is a legit division 1 college football player. He is a joy to watch. And, he is a Strong recruit. Also, since Strong has taken over the defense, which is his forte, Texas hasn't been great, but they have been a hell of a lot better. The players are tackling better, the secondary is in the right spot for the most part and they seem to understand what Strong wants to do.

Look, I think Texas needs to keep him around for, at least, one more season. He finally has his recruits and they are finally starting to buy in. I know that they got beat by Kansas, but they also played Oklahoma really well this year, beat them last year, and have, at times, looked really decent. I know they want Tom Herman, who lost to SMU people, or Jimbo Fisher, who's FSU team has been wildly disappointing, or Les Miles, who got fired once this year already, but I say stick with Strong for one more season. This team could be a legit top 25 team if he sticks around. But, if they do fire him, they will be in another rebuild, and I do not know if the fans and boosters can deal with that. I say be patient, but it is not my decision, and it looks like the people who make this decision have already decided what they want to do.

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty has won 27 championships in a row for Michigan on his old copy of NCAA Football 2011. Do you hear that Texas boosters? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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