Texas said Saturday that it had fired Tom Herman as its football coach and, hours later, announced that it had hired the wizard at the helm of top-ranked Alabama’s offense in a bid to restore the Longhorns to championship contention. But the dismissal of Herman and the hiring of Steve Sarkisian, a former head coach at Southern California and Washington, immediately renewed tough questions about the merits of paying out millions of dollars in buyouts when college athletic departments are under extraordinary financial strain. Herman was 32-18 during his four seasons in Austin, with a 4-0 record in bowls and, to the frustration of Texas fans, no Big 12 championships. Although Texas had signed Herman to an extension in May 2019, the university on Saturday cited the “measured progress” for the football program and said that a coaching change was warranted “to get us on track to achieving our ambitious goals.”Texas could ultimately pay about $15 million in private funds to settle Herman’s contract. And although Texas is one of the richest athletic departments in college sports, it has acknowledged financial troubles during the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: New York Times January 02, 2021 22:30 UTC