
Tom Herman is a longtime college football coach, and although his last few stops didn't quite work out as he'd planned, he's been very successful.
Herman won a national championship under head coach Urban Meyer in 2014 as the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He then used that experience to become the head coach of the Houston Cougars, where he went 22-4 in two seasons and won the American Athletic Conference in his first season.
He was a rising star, and that led him to being the natural replacement for Charlie Strong when the latter was fired by the Texas Longhorns.
Herman could never get Texas over the hump, though, and he was fired after going 32-18 in four years. He tried to revive his career as head coach of the FAU Owls, but he was fired during his second season after starting 2-8. He was just 6-16 as the head coach at FAU.
It has been an up-and-down ride for Herman, from rising star to getting fired in year two at FAU.
He's now been picked up by Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles to be an assistant to Norvell.
With such experience, one would think that Herman could get a nice chunk of change in an advisory role, but a public records request from Kolby Crawford of 247Sports shows that the former Texas head coach will be making only $25 per hour at FSU.
Contract details for Tom Herman at FSU
— Kolby Crawford (@kolby_crawford) July 23, 2026
Story: https://t.co/XYaE2hLfmx pic.twitter.com/LGT9y3YMjQ
Herman may not be calling plays again, but he is expected to be an important person in the ear of Norvell, so it is somewhat surprising to see him being paid like...well...a normal person.
Norvell is certainly going to use Herman for his experience, though, and the FSU head coach recently revealed that this has been a hire that has been in the making since the spring.
"He came through in the spring and we kind of generally discussed (a role),” Norvell said, per Corey Clark of Warchant. “He came back in the summer, and we really sat down and talked about role. Tom is extremely, extremely intelligent. A guy that has been a great coach throughout his career. He’s done some wonderful things.
“But I think he can come in and really provide a unique perspective, different experiences. I’m glad it was able to work out to have him here for this year and what he’s going to be able to provide for the staff. And just continue to elevate us in all different areas.”
Herman's role at FSU, officially, will be to assist the coaching staff with game analysis.
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