Herman recognizes that pretending rumors of his future employment aren’t going away if he ignores them, so he acknowledges the rumor, addresses it, and moves on.
Said tight end Tyler McCloskey: “He sat us down and told us he’s not going anywhere, he’s staying here. He loves it here, he loves us. To hear that from the head coach and to hear all the rumors going around, to have him squash that and allowed us to refocus on the task at hand and just play football and not worry about anything outside of our building.”
Not to be Debbie Downer, but that McCloskey quote was pulled from the original Sam Khan ESPN article without the context.
That McCloskey quote was in reference to Herman sitting the players down last year and telling them he wasn’t going anywhere. There has been no report of that happening this year. Although, I will say that it appears until we hear something from Herman himself, we shouldn’t believe it.
Of course, in the video interview with SVP at that ESPN link, in addition to saying he won’t ever talk about other jobs during the season (what he always says), he started by saying “we love it here in Houston” and finished it by saying he loves going to work everyday and coaching these kids.
I know no one outside of Houston will believe this, but I think he is being 100% honest when he says he loves it here. I mean, what’s not to love? He’ll make a ton of money (Ferttita and Khator will make sure he’s taken care of), he has received everything he has asked for as far as facility upgrades, he can win at a very high level every year, even if it’s not the highest level, he’s proven he can recruit at a very high level without being gone from his family all the time, and he’s basically worshiped here.
As we get older and we have prior work experience to look back on, we realize that work environment is far more important than money. He has a really good gig here and he’s smart enough to be really patient when it comes to other opportunities. I think we have a better chance than most of keeping him here. Go Coogs!
This is exactly correct. I have owned my own business for 17 years, and at times, and for long stretches has been scary, super stressful, unpredictable, and a hassle. Also I have had more joy building this business and I would not have it any other way. I could make more money more easily, as I am offered high paying jobs, quite regularly. It’s flattering but I wouldn’t give up what I have, even for more money. Because I have everything I want, and I am in charge. Many of the jobs I have been offered, the companies go out of business or everyone get’s fired, or the environment is toxic and dysfunctional, or they work you to death and expect you to travel every week. It would have been a huge mistake for me to let go of all my clients and relationships I have built.
In other words, environment, and relationships trump money in my experience. And with Herman, money ain’t gonna be a problem here at UH. At a place like UT what you get is endless arrogant politics, meddling and a culture of entitlement. UT doesn’t care about Tom Herman. To them he’s shiny and all they want is victories and a trophy wife. They don’t care about a culture of love, discipline, character and hard work.
With uncertainty at LSU, Texas, USC and Notre Dame it’s going to be damn tough. But I have confidence in UH’s top administrators. FERTITTA-KHATOR 2016.
Here is the article I was referencing that came out on Oct 2. It appears similar but distinctly different IMO. It is also a quote from McCloskey. Here is a snippet. Hmmmmm…
Posted: Sunday, October 2, 2016 10:00 pm
By ANTHONY OPPERMANN
Houston Cougars tight end Tyler McCloskey said he and his fellow teammates believe their head coach, Tom Herman, is different.
“He’s not in it for the money,” McCloskey said. “I think he genuinely loves us; I know he does. He cares about us. He’s not worried about how big his bank account is.
“He’s building something special here. We’re building something special here, and I think that’s more important to him.”
Ok…so I emailed Anthony Oppermann to inquire about McCloskey’s quotes in the article I posted above…and here for reference. All eyes on UH’s Tom Herman
He answered my email and said “Tyler made those comments during media availability last week Monday before the UConn game, so they were recent.”
I think this is important and clearly a better indicator of sentiments inside the locker room. Again, these are this year’s comments.
