Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman signed a new five-year contract on Friday that will pay him in the neighborhood of $2.8 million annually (plus $200,000 for his staff), per a team announcement. Herman had been pursued for several other head-coaching vacancies, including the one at South Carolina.
The new deal extends Herman's original buyout of $2.25 million by a year to February 28, 2019. The buyout is worth $2.5 million prior to February 28, 2017. However, if a planned $20 million indoor facility project is not approved by Houston's Board of Regents by September 1st of 2016, Herman's $2.5 million buyout will be reduced by 25%.
The $2.25 million buyout will be reduced by 50% if construction of the indoor practice facility isn’t near completion by December 1, 2017, and will be reduced even further to 75% if the facility isn't close to being finished by December 1st, 2018.
Herman, 40, has had a fantastic debut as an FBS head coach this year, leading #19 Houston to an 11-1 record. Houston hosts Temple on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference title game. If the Cougars win, they'll essentially clinch the Group of Five's automatic bid for a New Year's Six bowl.
Prior to accepting the job in Houston, Herman worked under Urban Meyer at Ohio State as the program's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He played an essential role in Ohio State's run to the first-ever College Football Playoff championship, working with three different starting quarterbacks en route to the team's postseason triumph.
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