Texas Football: UT AD Offers Vote of Confidence for Tom Herman in Recent Podcast

Chris Del Conte was candid in his support for his head coach

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte was quick to dismiss any concerns of head coach Tom Herman being on the hot seat entering 2020. 

There has been some speculation among the media that this could be a make-or-break year for Herman, who brought in seven new assistant coaches following a disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2020, but on a recent podcast with 247Sports, Del Conte called the concept of setting expectations for Herman 'crazy talk'.

“I think that’s crazy talk, (host) Chip (brown),” Del Conte said. “I mean that. Think about it. He’s been here three years. (The) first year was seven wins. Last year, we won 10 and won the Sugar Bowl. This year we won eight and won the Alamo Bowl. Our expectations are high, but we also have to look at where the program was. When was the last time we won three bowl games in a row? Look at the building blocks we’re putting forth in recruiting. This is not … oh you’ve got to win x-amount. Tom made some really difficult choices in letting go a lot of people that were dear friends of his and were with him a long time. He said, ‘We’re going to make changes.’ In fact, Yurcich, what a great offensive coordinator. What a great offensive mind. We have, what, nine seniors on offense or eight or nine on defense coming back? Really solid team. Like anything else, barring injuries, you have a chance to have a really special season.”

While you don't expect an athletic director to issue a public ultimatum to a sitting head coach, this still has to be seen as positive news for those who want to see Herman stick around. 

Be sure to give the entire podcast a listen. It's an interesting look at the program from a guy who doesn't often do long-form interviews.