Winless in AAC play, FAU fires coach Herman
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Florida Atlantic fired coach Tom Herman on Monday, the school announced, just two years into his tenure.
FAU was 6-16 during Herman’s two seasons and had gone 0-6 in the AAC this year. FAU is on a five-game losing streak.
Herman took the job as FAU was transitioning from Conference USA to the AAC and after the firing of coach Willie Taggart, who was there three seasons. Chad Lunsford will be the FAU interim coach. He’s the former head coach at Georgia Southern.
Sources said that the decision was results-based, as the record didn’t match Herman’s track record from his previous stops at Texas and Houston.
“I extend my appreciation to Tom Herman for his dedication to our university and our student-athletes,” athletic director Brian White said Monday. “I informed Tom of my decision this morning and then met with the staff and team. We firmly believe in our ability to win championships and compete for bowl games, and that remains our standard.”
He’s the fourth AAC coach to get fired this year, as East Carolina, Temple and Rice have all fired their coaches. A majority of the six transitioning Conference USA teams have struggled with the adjustment to the AAC, as five of the seven schools at the bottom of the AAC are transitioning schools.
The FAU firing looms as the biggest surprise, as Herman had yet to complete his second season. He has three years remaining on his five-year deal.
Herman, 49, came to FAU after a stint as head coach at Texas, where he went 32-18 with four bowl wins in four seasons. Prior to that, he went 22-4 in two seasons at Houston, dominating the AAC and beating Florida State in the Peach Bowl following the 2015 season.
Following that run at Texas, Herman worked for the Chicago Bears for a year and then another year in the media. Herman should end up involved in the offensive coordinator mix somewhere, as this looms as a busy year for coordinator openings and he came up as a coordinator at Rice, Iowa State and called plays for Ohio State’s 2014 national title team.
FAU has won three conference championships in school history, including Conference USA in 2017 and 2019 under Lane Kiffin. Since then, FAU has just one winning season and has endured four consecutive losing seasons.
Florida Atlantic is also rehiring defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni, who was fired by Herman on Nov. 10. Lunsford wanted Bellantoni back in his role, sources told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. The sources added that the move isn’t a poor reflection on interim defensive coordinator Brandon Harris, who prepared the defense well for Saturday’s game against Temple. Harris serves as the team’s cornerbacks coach.
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Chris Low
Alabama will be without team captain and starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III for Saturday’s opener against Florida State after he suffered a high ankle sprain Tuesday in practice, sources told ESPN.
Keenan was scheduled to undergo a tightrope surgical procedure Wednesday and is expected to miss multiple games, but sources said Alabama expects him back at some point this season. The Crimson Tide face UL Monroe in Week 2, Wisconsin in Week 3 and then have a bye week before traveling to Georgia for the SEC opener on Sept. 27.
Coach Kalen DeBoer said earlier Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference that Keenan was still being evaluated after suffering a lower-body injury and would “probably not” be full go for the game.
Keenan, a fifth-year senior, is one of the anchors of an Alabama defensive line that should be one of the strengths of the team. He’s a two-year starter and one of the strongest leaders on the team. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Beaman and true freshman London Simmons are next in line to step in for Keenan, who was second on the team a year ago with 7.5 tackles for loss.
Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts‘ status for Saturday’s opener remains uncertain, according to DeBoer. The fifth-year senior, who has started 21 games over the past two seasons, has been “very limited” in recent practices as he works his way through the NCAA concussion protocol.
The Crimson Tide were already going to be without starting running back Jam Miller, who dislocated his collarbone in a scrimmage and will miss multiple games. DeBoer told ESPN last week he expected Miller to be back for the Georgia game.
On3.com was the first to report the news of Keenan’s surgery and the expectation he would miss multiple games.
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