Tom Herman is not joining Nick Saban's School for Once and Future Head Coaches, but he is doing something similar.
Nearly two months to the day after his Texas firing, Herman is back in coaching as an offensive analyst/special projects assistant for the Chicago Bears. The club announced the move on Monday.
The job will be the first time Herman has worked in the NFL at any capacity. The former Cal Lutheran wide receiver jumped immediately into coaching as the wide receivers coach at Texas Lutheran in 1998 and remained at the college level through his 4-year run at Texas. He became a GA on Mack Brown's Longhorns staff for the 1999 season and remained at the Division I level from that point on.
While Herman has never worked at the NFL level, his new boss Matt Nagy has never worked in college -- and thus never crossed paths with Herman. Nagy played eight years on the fringes of professional football before launching his coaching career as an intern for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008 and remained in Andy Reid's orbit until landing the Bears job in 2018.
Taking the Bears job means Herman will not have to sit out a football season for the first time of his adult life, though he certainly could afford to. Texas paid Herman a $15 million buyout, as dictated by an extension he signed following a Sugar Bowl victory to close the 2018 season.
As an analyst, Herman will assist Nagy and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to help an offense that finished fifth in the bottom at 6.4 yards per pass attempt and in the bottom third of the league at 4.2 yards per carry last season.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.