Texas booster praises Tom Herman, sets sights on Major Applewhite

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Red McCombs, that big Longhorns benefactor, is at it again: praising new Texas football coach Tom Herman, taking some thinly veiled parting shots at Charlie Strong, and -- watch out Cougar fans -- already setting his sights on Major Applewhite.

McCombs, in an interview with Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman, said Texas "got our man" when it hired Herman away from Houston.

"This guy is the real deal," McCombs told Bohls. "If you list his 10 greatest qualities, coaching might be No. 7 or 8. His greatest is recognizing talent. The second one is recognizing the enemy and what it takes to beat him. There are some guys out there we know are winners because we've played them and gotten our ass beat the last two years.

"There are guys who are great position coaches, and you wonder why they never made a great coach. Some coaches who do well at one place, then flame out and you never hear from 'em anymore."

It was McCombs who said after Strong's hiring in 2014 that he would make make a good position coach or maybe a coordinator in a not-so-ringing endorsement of Mack Brown's replacement.

Tom Herman talks to the media during a news conference where he was introduced as Texas' new head NCAA college football coach, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Austin. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Tom Herman talks to the media during a news conference where he was introduced as Texas' new head NCAA college football coach, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Austin. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Photo: Eric Gay, STF Photo: Eric Gay, STF Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Texas booster praises Tom Herman, sets sights on Major Applewhite 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

McCombs said he and Strong had a healthy relationship, despite those major early reservations.

"I did regret 'em," McCombs said about those comments, "but sometimes people can't live with the truth, and you're better off keeping your mouth shut. Charlie's as nice a guy as you ever wanted to meet. But he was lost. Suddenly he's in the oven, and it didn't come together.

"He tried hard, but it wasn't there. It just didn't fit, and he had to be frustrated out of his head. You got to have confidence when you step into that ring. It's like being in Madison Square Garden and the whole world is looking at you. I tried to get the powers-to-be to have mercy on him after two years. That was like me running NASA."

McCombs said he expects Herman to have Texas back in the top five or six teams in the country and even knows who he'd go after if Herman moves on to the pros or something else.

"I think Tom will blow the lid off it. In 10 years, we'll get an awful lot out of him. And after Major Applewhite does the same thing at Houston, then we'll get him."