Tom Herman is back on a college football staff, but the number attached to his Florida State deal is the part that has Texas fans cracking up.
FSU hired Herman to its coaching staff last week, and when the contract became public earlier this week, the reaction from Longhorns fans came fast. According to the reported terms, Herman is not working on a set salary. Instead, he is making $25 per hour.
Do the math on that at 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, and Herman would come out to $52,000 a year before taxes. That’s the kind of figure that turned him into an easy punchline in Austin, especially given the path he’s taken since leaving Texas.
Herman spent four years as the Longhorns’ head coach after Texas hired him nearly 10 years ago, and his time in Austin brought plenty of turbulence on and off the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. After he was moved on in 2020 and Steve Sarkisian took over, Texas fans were more than ready to turn the page.
Herman then spent one season as an offensive analyst for the Chicago Bears before becoming the head coach at Florida Atlantic. FAU parted ways with him in 2024, and since then he had been in what the story described as employment purgatory until Florida State came calling.
The new role is listed under the Seminoles’ appointment details as “assistant coaching staff with game analysis.” Even with the hourly pay, there’s a real chance Herman could make more than the basic annual figure if his workload goes beyond a standard 40-hour week. But on paper, the number is still startling for someone whose resume includes head coaching stops at Houston, Texas and FAU.
That contrast is part of what makes this such an easy joke. Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is set to make $10.3 million this season, and Sarkisian is set to make $11.05 million. Herman, by comparison, was making about $6.75 million a year when he coached the Longhorns.
So yes, Herman is employed again, and that matters. But for Texas fans, the contract details are the kind of thing that will keep the jokes going for a while.
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