I mentioned a few days ago that I would be looking to get some perspective on Tom Herrion from the place of his former job. JET of The Bushido Way and College of Charleston Sports Fan blogs (I’m always a fan of those who do multiple blogs).
This is what he wrote to me about Herrion in a brief summary.
Herrion is a good coach; he just wasn’t good for the college. I know he was the only CofC coach to be sanctioned by the NCAA for his antics on the side-lines but I attribute that to his knowledge that his house of cards were about to tumble. He didn’t discipline a couple of the guys when they were arrested and never really took the leadership role a coach should take. I am sure he has learned from those (bad) experiences though.
He pissed off a lot of the major donors of the school and season ticket holders were not re-upping their seats after his second year. I think when winning became his only salvation he did anything and everything to win. And it is human nature to crack under that kind of pressure.
I met him a couple of times and had a few heart to hearts with him-he has a genuine caring and respect for his players.
On his blog, he took the time to produce a much longer and detailed recollection of Tom Herrion’s time at CofC. Big thanks to JET for taking the time to do this.
Unfortunately, if there was one mistake Herrion made at the College, it was that he didn’t lobby (stroke) the Maroon Nation enough. And perhaps that is just that he was somewhat of a greenhorn at the game: you have to be 1-part coach, 1-part salesman (recruiter), 1-part cheerleader and 1-part politician (working the crowd: the alumni, the fans and the media). In fact, if you notice the main difference between a coach like Herrion and a coach like Bobby Cremins is that Cremins has gone out of his way to leave his footprints on the bricks surrounding George Street. And Cremins loves this interaction with the fans: If you pick up the receiver Cremins will make you a believer.
Really, make sure you read the whole thing if interested, especially the part about his “enthusiasm” on the bench. Because he didn’t do enough fan/alumni/booster stroking, when things got bumpy and he made some mistakes, it seems he had no room for getting a pass from the fans and powers. A not uncommon story.
I’d say Coach Dixon, after the second season with such a thud, started nearing that crossroads. Fan support was tepid for him and it seemed that the program was already beginning to backslide. Add in Dixon still being incredibly uncomfortable being the public face of the program, and rumblings were already starting. Thankfully, the team came back better the next year (and has shown to be getting better still) and Dixon began getting more comfortable with the public appearances aspect of the job.
The recruiter part of Herrion has never been in question, so that is good for Pitt. Herrion, in an article with a Charleston paper published today also talked about the new opportunity at Pitt.
Herrion, 39, returned to coaching this week when he was named an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, one of the most successful programs in the Big East Conference and in the nation in recent years.
“It’s an absolute home run, a grand slam, whatever you want to call it,” said Herrion, who was hired Monday by Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon. “It’s just a great opportunity for me and for my family.”
…
“I missed my players last year, being with my team day in and day out,” Herrion said. “Broadcasting games is not the same as coaching, but under the circumstances it was a great opportunity to stay involved in the game. It offered some different perspectives, and I think I did a good job of maximizing those opportunities. Spending time at other schools, witnessing how other programs are run, I think that made me a better coach.”
Herrion is still under 40. So, it’s not like he is some burned-out, retread ex-coach. He’s still quite young for a coach and has ambition to be a head coach again. This is all very good for Pitt.
