How Texas won Tom Herman's high-stakes recruitment and had a training effect on the state of Lone Star Oklahoma

AUSTIN – Whatever the drama, the odd twist, the surreal moments that Texas and LSU bring Saturday, it will be almost impossible to match their last game.

The 2003 Cotton Bowl in Dallas? Not exactly.

Think of the Thanksgiving weekend in 2016, when the Houston coach Tom Herman was about to take the LSU job replacing Charlie Strong in less than 48 hours.

These are high-profile recruitments that have taken place on several media and have finally had repercussions, from Texas A & M to Oklahoma.

This Saturday, Herman will lead his 29th game in Texas after being hired, which provoked strong complaints to LSU against Herman and agent Trace Armstrong.

Ed Orgeron, the LSU coach, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the turn of events, will be on the sidelines.

Much of the country and ESPN College GameDay will be focused on the Top 10 which will have major implications for each team's hopes in the playoffs.

Herman clearly wanted to put all the incident behind him earlier this week.

When asked why he chose Texas rather than the LSU, Herman had taken a leap forward.

"LSU is a great place, a great football program," Herman said. "I'm really lucky and grateful to be the head coach of Texas – it's the job of my dreams – I'm talking about Texas this week."

Asked about a crucial meeting with Texas President Greg Fenves and former Sports Director Mike Perrin, he bristled.

"To be honest with you, it was three years ago," said Herman. "It's water under the bridge." I'd rather not waste time talking about something that happened three years ago when team # 6 of the country came to play against us. "

Despite Herman's assessment, people are still interested. Sports Illustrated wrote 4,000 words this week to revisit the situation with former LSU AD Joe Alleva. Other media outlets also took another look.

Perhaps the biggest winner of all this, Orgeron, also rejected the questions.

"Do not do it.I'm glad to be the LSU coach," Orgeron said. "It's about our football players against their football players – none of this means anything."

LSU had sent The Miles back to four games in the 2016 season, and rumors had floated about one of the most exciting jobs in college football.

Most initial speculation was focused on Jimbo Fisher of Florida, LSU's former assistant under Nick Saban, who won a national championship in 2013.

It was logical in many ways. But LSU officials told Sports Illustrated that the price asked by Fisher had turned the school down – $ 7.5 million a year.

Fisher's price did not deter Texas A & M from hiring it after the 2017 season for a $ 75 million 10-year deal. After nine wins, including a win over LSU, A & M ranks 12th on the eve of a duel with Clemson this Saturday.

LSU's research paid off, but by the end of the season he had focused on Herman and Orgeron, the Tigers' acting coach.

Former offensive coordinator of the state of Ohio, Herman had built a reputation as a giant killer in Houston with victories over Florida State and Oklahoma in two seasons, although the Cougars have lost their effectiveness in 2016.

Then Texas entered the picture.

In his third season in Austin, Charlie Strong started with a new offense and a win against Notre Dame just to fight.

After an inexplicable defeat against Kansas, Strong was over, many sources told the Morning News. Herman had links with the state and the university, as a former assistant graduate under Mack Brown. One of his first homework was controlling the crowd with Ricky Williams during his Heisman show.

Perrin, a former Texas player under Darrell Royal and future Houston lawyer, was asked to stabilize the sports department after the indirect damage caused by Steve Patterson.

"As for Tom, remember that I lived in Houston, I kept my home there," Perrin said in an interview this week. "I had seen what Tom had done in Houston with the H-Town turnaround."

Perrin emphasized Herman's desire to win in Houston, but also to gain support from the university in a tough professional market. Texas boosters in Houston were attentive and loved Herman a lot.

"I was watching Tom at that time," Perrin said. "I thought he'd been enormously successful, not only on the pitch, but also with what they were doing with respect to the enthusiasm aroused by UT fans, some of whom were friends of mine. "

A report from HornsDigest.com on Thanksgiving night that LSU was about to name Herman, just as the Tigers were playing against Texas A & M.

Other reports followed. The ESPN broadcast team spent the party talking about Herman. Marginal reporter Laura Rutledge climbed out of the Kyle Field press box to get a "no comment" from Alleva.

Perrin discovered the reports from donors and colleagues quite quickly. Now, he says it did not force the Texas hand.

"LSU is a very good institution, it has a great story, I have friends who have been there, who have played it, who have supported it," Perrin said. "But that was not part of my thoughts, I could not worry about other things I did not know."

Also after a 31-9 defeat to TCU on Friday, November 25, Fenves and Perrin headed for a meeting with Herman, after a defeat against Memphis in Bastrop (7,200 inhabitants).

Barely more than a year from his tenure as president, Fenves was certainly not a sports fan. In more than 20 years in Cal, when the Golden Bears had teams of dynamite with Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch, he said he attended exactly one football match.

A previous expedition to recruit Tulsa's offensive coordinator, Sterlin Gilbert, had been very delicate.

It was an important issue. Neither Fenves nor Perrin knew Herman. And there really was no plan B.

The meeting with Herman started late Friday afternoon and continued in the early morning. Herman asked a sharp question about Texas' commitment and the need to improve resources.

"From my point of view, there was no hesitation to proceed that night," Perrin said. "That's why I wanted to be the next head coach at the University of Texas."

Perrin said he and Fenves "were united in our approach".

Armstrong reportedly called Alleva early Saturday and the LSU AD refused to embark on an auction war, according to Sports Illustrated, adding a vulgarity to the end.

He then offered the job to Orgeron.

The next morning, Strong was head coach and soon after, Herman and Armstrong had agreed on a five-year contract worth more than $ 29.7 million.

Houston envisioned five candidates, including a brilliant young Oklahoma coordinator named Lincoln Riley. While Riley reportedly nailed the interview, Houston hired Major Applewhite, who was fired after last season.

Riley replaced the retired Bob Stoops six months later. Since then, he has recorded 25 wins for 4 losses and two wins for Heisman.

"Houston is a very good job, it's a very good football program in a big city that has been very successful over the years," Riley said. "It was something that really interested me at the time.

"Going through the process, staying in Oklahoma was, for me and my family at that time, the right decision for several reasons."

Fenves declined an interview request but told the Associated Press that efforts to land Herman were "fruitful".

Texas won 10 games last season and is ninth in the AP standings on Saturday. After almost a decade in the wilds of football, Texas is again … yes, you know.

"I'm really very pleased with the decision we all made to bring Tom to the University of Texas," Perrin said. "I am delighted with the progress of the program under his direction."