JUST MY TYPE
TOM HERMAN
TEXAS HAS 'IM
After going 22--4 in two seasons as Houston's football coach, the 41-year-old signed a five-year, $25 million contract with Texas—a decent raise from his graduate assistant days in Austin.
DAN PATRICK:Congratulations. Where are you right now?
TOM HERMAN: I'm at my new office in Austin, getting ready to hit the road for recruiting.
DP:When did you agree to take the Texas job?
TH: At, like, four in the morning on Saturday [Nov. 26].
DP:Why four in the morning?
TH: I got a phone call when we landed [the night before from Friday's 48--44 loss to Memphis], and they said that some people from Texas wanted to meet with me. The meeting didn't start until 10:30 at night, and it took that long to figure something out.
DP:Was your wife [Michelle] awake?
TH: She was on the phone [with me] as we were talking [in the meeting]. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to make any decision like that without calling her and making sure she's good.
DP:You told a reporter before the Memphis game not to believe reports you were leaving Houston. Were you being sincere?
TH: Yeah, I was. All of the reports before the game were inaccurate. I was not lying. I felt very comfortable saying that.
DP:Did LSU reach out to you?
TH: Not to skirt the question, but I don't know if how we got here [at Texas] is relevant. What's really relevant is that we're here now. I'm great with the team at Houston. I never once lied to them. Those are the people I needed to make my peace with. I've gotten numerous phone calls and texts, all positive, from my former players, boosters and administrators at Houston. I've moved on. I think it's smart for everybody else to too.
DP:Did you have to sell yourself to Texas, or was it the other way around?
TH: A little bit of both. I wanted to know their vision for Texas football and if it aligned with mine.
DP:How do you sell Texas [to recruits] after a down couple of seasons?
TH: We're the flagship university for the greatest football-playing state in our country. We've won multiple national championships. To sell it to recruits is easy.
DP:What are you doing with your Houston gear?
TH: Whenever I change jobs, I usually try to give it to fans that I've become close with.
DP:Why don't you have a tag sale?
TH: When I was a [grad assistant] and left Texas back in 2000, I had one because I needed the money.
DP:How much did you make as a GA?
TH: I made $400 a month. My wife was working back in Los Angeles. She would send me money to help me pay rent.
DP:You've made that much money since we started talking.
TH:[Laughs.] I haven't done the math, but that's pretty impressive.
GUEST SHOTS
SAY WHAT?
Padres bench coach Mark McGwire hopes that baseball's Eras Committee (formerly the Veterans Committee) will vote him into the Hall of Fame. "I totally understand why I'm not in right now," McGwire said. "Everybody knows about the [steroids] era. I don't envy [the baseball] writers. But that's what went on. Everyone knows it. Let's move on."... Bulls guard Dwyane Wade told me that he loves football but could never take the physical punishment. "Just let me be a goal line receiver," Wade said. "Throw it to the corner, never the middle. Let me go up there and get it."... Lions QB Matt Stafford explained why he uses Omaha in his snap count, just like Peyton Manning: "It rolls off the tongue. Some teams are using 'Hurry Hurry!' You gotta use short words with a couple of syllables."
