Tom Herman Named Houston Head Coach

2014 Frank Broyles Award winner become Houston's 13th head coach.



HOUSTON - Named the 2014 Frank Broyles Award winner as the nation's top assistant coach last week, Tom Herman was named the 13th head coach of the University of Houston Football program Tuesday by Houston Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades.



The Ohio State Offensive Coordinator will be officially introduced to the City of Houston in a press conference Friday at TDECU Stadium as UH and Herman have come to terms on a five-year, $6.75 million agreement. Herman will continue to serve as Ohio State's offensive coordinator through the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff run.



"Due to the progress of our University and Athletics program we received great interest from a number of talented candidates nationally. Throughout this process, Tom Herman's name continued to rise above the rest of the field. He is an extremely gifted football coach and his aptitude to lead and connect with his student-athletes is special. Tom's ability to recruit at a high level is directly related to his genuine personality and how well he relates with all types of people. His dynamic leadership skills and experience and respect of high school coaches throughout the state of Texas will serve our program well. Our expectations for the program continue to increase and Tom has a detailed plan for taking our program to the next level," said Rhoades. "His offensive prowess and overall talent is recognized nationally as evident of receiving the Frank Broyles Award. We look forward to the future and are thrilled to welcome Tom, his wife Michelle, and their children Priya, Maddock and Maverick, to the University of Houston, our Athletics family and Coog nation."



Herman has helped develop record-setting and explosive offenses in each of his 10 seasons as an offensive coordinator, including his three seasons in the position of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Ohio State University.



"This is a tremendous opportunity for my family and I to come back to Houston and lead one of the top programs in the country," said Herman who has spent 11 seasons of his collegiate coaching career in the state of Texas. "I am looking forward to working with one of the top athletic directors in the country as well as Chancellor Khator in a partnership that will make the city of Houston and the great state of Texas proud."



Herman's 2014 Ohio State offense finished the regular season ranked fourth in scoring offense at 45.2 points per game and eighth in total offense at 507.6 yards per game despite losing Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller prior to the season.



Unfazed by the loss of his quarterback just before the season, Herman directed Miller's replacement, redshirt-freshman J.T. Barrett, to a fifth-place finish in the voting for the 2014 Heisman Trophy after setting a Big Ten record with 45 touchdowns responsible for, 34 through the air and 11 on the ground.



The Buckeyes claimed the 2014 Big Ten Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 59-0 win over Ohio State as Herman's offense rolled up 558 total yards with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones under center after an injury to Barrett in the regular-season finale.



Herman's quarterbacks in 2014 ranked second nationally with a team passing efficiency rating of 172.36 while Barrett was ranked third nationally with a rating of 169.8 and sixth nationally with an Ohio State record 34 passing touchdowns while also adding 11 touchdowns on the ground for a Big Ten record of 45 touchdowns responsible for. Barrett also set Ohio State single-season records for passing touchdowns (34) and total offense (3,772 yards).



The Buckeyes' offense rank fifth nationally with an average of 7.04 yards per play and fourth nationally with 39 plays of 30 yards or longer and 14 plays of 50 yards or longer.



Barrett, the Big Ten's 2014 Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year was one of four offensive players to receive All-Big Ten honors this season and the third offensive player to receive a major Big Ten award under Herman's leadership as Carlos Hyde was named the 2013 Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and Miller was named the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.



After leading the Big Ten in scoring in 2012 at 37.2 points per game and ranking 10th nationally in rushing at nearly 250 yards per game, Ohio State's offense under Herman went to a new level in 2013 by ranking third nationally in scoring with 45.5 points per game and fifth in rushing with 308.6 yards per game.



The Buckeyes have been successful through the air as well. Among the 12 single season records to fall in 2013 were most touchdown passes (38) with top five school totals in passing yards (2,846), attempts (368) and completions (238). Additional records were set in rushing yards in a season (4,321 yards, which also is a Big Ten Conference record), most total touchdowns (82) and most total offensive yards (7,167), yards per play (7.1) and yards per game (511.9).



Miller finished fifth and ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting the in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Additionally, he set the school record for total offense and was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien and Manning Awards in 2012 and in 2013 he led the Big Ten in passing efficiency.



Herman, who was named the 2013 Rivals.com Big Ten Recruiter of the Year and national Top 25 recruiter, arrived in Columbus after spending three years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Iowa State University.


At Iowa State, Herman's well-balanced offense was indisputable as Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud ended his career as the Cyclones No. 2 all-time leading passer with 6,777 yards and 42 touchdown passes while running back Alexander Robinson finished his Iowa State career as the Cyclones' fourth all-time leading rusher with 3,309 yards.



Herman spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons as offensive coordinator at Rice before heading to Iowa State. During his two seasons with the Owls, his offenses broke over 40 school records and in his second season the Owls won 10 games and went to a bowl for the first time since 1954.



Rice ranked in the Top 10 nationally in 2008 in passing offense (fifth; 327.8), scoring offense (eighth; 41.6) and total offense (10th; 472.3). Two Rice receivers had more than 1,300 yards receiving on the year while tight end James Casey had 111 receptions and quarterback Chase Clement was the Conference USA MVP.



Rice's spread attack completed nearly two-thirds (65.6%) of its passes and its TD-to-interception ratio of 48-to-7 was an NCAA FBS best. The quick-strike Owls had 30 scoring drives of five plays or less in 2008 and 31 scoring marches of less than two minutes.



Prior to Rice, Herman directed offensive attacks for two years (2005-06) at Texas State, where Bobcat squads led the Southland Conference in total offense. The 2005 Texas State club was eighth nationally in scoring and made a run to the FCS semifinals in the school's first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs. Herman also worked four years as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State, helping the Bearkats to a pair of Southland Conference titles and trips to the FCS semifinals and quarterfinals.



Herman received Big 12 experience at Texas (1999-2000), serving as a graduate assistant with the offensive line on the Longhorns' Cotton and Holiday Bowl teams after receiving his coaching start in 1998 as a wide receivers coach at Texas Lutheran.



Herman earned his B.S. degree in business administration from California Lutheran in 1997, where he graduated *** laude and was a Presidential Scholarship recipient. As a player, he earned all-conference honors as a wide receiver. Herman, also owns a Masters of Education degree from Texas.



Herman was born in Cincinnati and raised in Simi Valley, Calif. He was an all-conference receiver at California Lutheran, graduating in 1997 with a degree in business administration. He has a master's in education from the University of Texas.



Herman and his wife, Michelle, have a daughter, Priya, and two sons, Maddock and Maverick.



The first game of the Herman era is slated for Sept. 5 vs. Tennessee Tech before the Cougars travel to Louisville one week later.



Houston is slated to take on Pitt in the 2015 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Jan. 2 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. Houston defensive coordinator David Gibbs will serve as the program's interim head coach for the game as the Cougars begin bowl practices Monday afternoon in Houston.



WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT TOM HERMAN

"Tom has done an excellent job for us. Our staff and I have enjoyed working with him. We wish him all the best in his new position as head coach at the University of Houston. He has been great for our program. He came in and meshed immediately with the coaches and the players. Houston is not only getting an excellent coach, but an excellent person and family man. I wish him all the best." - Urban Meyer, Head Coach at The Ohio State University