Every year in college football coaches get hired and fired, and the entire process is covered like a game of telephone with back and forth hearsay about who’s going where.

In 2016, it was no different. The first domino to fall in this year’s coaching roulette was former University of Houston head coach Tom Herman. Herman led the Cougars to a 22-4 record in his two years there, only to leave campus when the opportunity struck.

First, it was reported on Thursday night, DURING LSU’s game against Texas A&M, that the Bayou Bengals were interested in Herman. However, Herman ended up leaving Houston on Saturday shortly after their game against Memphis where he was a no-show at his required post-game press conference.

Instead, he bolted to Austin, Texas to become the next coach of the University of Texas less than 24 hours after the Longhorns dumped Charlie Strong, their former head coach, sometime late Friday or early Saturday.

All of that is fine and dandy, except when the Texas fans celebrate their poaching of the pride of Houston, many people forget the collateral damage a head coach’s departure has on his former team.

High school athletes don’t sign on to come play college football somewhere because of just the school. It’s a factor, but not the central one. The head coach is what brings players to their campuses.

It’s the head coach who the players know they will spend numerous hours of their college experience hustling for on the field and off it.

It’s the head coach who sets the tone of a team, so when a player commits to a school, they’re really committing to a coach.

When that coach leaves, it can leave players feeling betrayed and abandoned.

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