The 51-year-old former head coach will join the Florida State coaching staff this fall, according to multiple reports. Warchant, Florida State’s On3 website, first reported the news.
Herman, who spent last year as a volunteer coach at Boca Raton (Fla.) High School where his son TD played, visited Houston last year when the program celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his 2015 team that went 13-1 and finished ranked No. 8 in the country. At that occasion, he told the Houston Chronicle that he’d like to get back into college football as an offensive coordinator instead of a head coach.
“I think being a head coach is much different nowadays than it used to be,” he said. “I miss coaching. I miss the players. I miss making a difference. At this point in my life, I can be a little selective as well, and so, if it’s the right opportunity it would be great.”
It’s unclear what role Herman will have at Florida State, but the Seminoles, who have gone 7-17 over the past two years under head coach Mike Norvell, promoted Tim Harris from passing-game coordinator to offensive coordinator when Gus Malzahn retired in February.
Before his run of head coaching jobs, Herman was an offensive coordinator at Texas State, Rice and Iowa State before taking over the offense at Ohio State and helping Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes win a national title. That helped him get the Houston job where he went 13-1 in his first season, then 9-3 in 2016 before taking the Texas job.
Herman’s high point at Texas came in Year 2 when he led the Longhorns to a 10-4 season, including a win over Georgia that had Texas finish the season ranked ninth in the country. Back-to-back Longhorns seasons that ended with Alamo Bowl wins was enough to get him fired after the 2020 season.