Texas hires Tom Herman as next head coach

Texas has hired Houston coach Tom Herman.

The news came less than an hour after Texas announced it was parting ways with Charlie Strong after three seasons. The school officially announced Herman’s hire Saturday afternoon and said a press conference with the new coach would be forthcoming on Sunday.

“The opportunity to come back to Texas is a dream come true for me and my family, and I can’t thank President [Greg] Fenves and [athletic director] Mike Perrin enough for providing me with this incredible opportunity,” Herman said in a statement. “Longhorn football has been – and always will be – a national power, winning and playing for national championships with great pride and passion, supported by an unbelievable fan base.”

Here’s what Houston had to say about Herman’s departure.

Herman was hired at Houston two years ago and led the Cougars to a 22-4 record, which included a American Athletic Conference title and a Peach Bowl win a year ago. The Peach Bowl was the Cougars’ first New Year’s Day bowl game in 30 years. Herman led all FBS coaches in their first year with a program with 13 wins and Houston has beaten six consecutive ranked teams, including No. 9 Florida State in the Peach Bowl and No. 3 Oklahoma in the 2016 season opener. Houston is 9-3 this season and while it lost to Navy, SMU and Memphis, it also defeated No. 3 Louisville two weeks ago.

Herman has been considered the top up-and-coming coaching prospect since his dynamic first season with the Cougars. Prior to that he was the offensive coordinator with Ohio State and helped lead the Buckeyes to a 2014 national championship with a third-string quarterback.

Herman has deep Texas roots. He started his career as a graduate assistant with the Longhorns under head coach Mack Brown (1999-2000) and has spent more than a decade in the state of Texas with stops at Texas Lutheran, Sam Houston State, Texas State and Rice.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday