Bears: 3 Tom Herman connections in the 2021 NFL Draft
By Loren Miller
The Chicago Bears announced on Tuesday that the former University of Texas and University of Houston head coach Tom Herman will serve in an analyst role for the team in 2021. Herman was fired in January at Texas after four seasons in Austin and was quickly replaced by former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
This is becoming a common thing in the NFL and Division I football where former head coaches or highly paid assistants that get let go from one organization spend a year with another organization in a consultant, special assistant, behind-the-scenes type role.
Can Herman bring his connections to the Bears?
Herman doesn’t necessarily need a high-paying gig after his dismissal from UT, his buyout is $15.4 million. He can spend a year with the Bears providing assistance to position coaches and coordinators in an attempt to either break into the league in a bigger job or create networking relationships to hopefully jump into the college ranks again.
His time in Austin wasn’t a complete failure after his big success at Houston, big boosters at UT pushed him to get Sarkisian who was coming off one of the best seasons in college history as a coordinator. Herman had the talent at Texas and won games there but just couldn’t put the Longhorns in the national conversation ala Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State while falling short of being the top team in the Big 12.
With the draft next month, you will see several players with connections to Herman from his days in Austin. Here are four that I expect to be drafted early in April’s 2021 NFL Draft.