Just to play devil's advocate a bit, I'd completely understand if that was the move for Herman. The way I'd see it, he's got three choices in this context: stay put, take the SC job, or wait for another offer.
- Stay put
- Pros: probably secure in his job making $3.0 M/yr (top 35 salary in the country) for another 5-10 years. Proven he can have success, might build Houston into something special and cement his legacy
- Cons: unlikely to ever get a shot at the CFP due to the conference Houston plays in, any drop off from double-digit wins takes the luster off his resume, makes him unlikely to get a big payday from a P5 school
- Take the SC job:
- Pros: $4.5 Million likely to be higher than any other current opening will offer, save perhaps USC. Ceiling just about unlimited at South Carolina. Prior to Spurrier, they had been to 6 Bowls in the previous 20 years, so the fanbase probably not too demanding. Moreover, Spurrier won one divisional title in 10 seasons and I really didn't sense any real demand from their boosters to remove him, so probably a reasonable balance of compensation vs. demands
- Cons: Likely to be expectations of a bowl every year, since salary in top 10 of CFB. Expected to compete in SEC while not being in or adjacent to the real recruiting hotbeds.
- Wait for another offer:
- Pros:
- Strong might be fired or going to Miami and UT would fit him better considering his coaching history, and he'd have his pick of Texas recruits. LSU might come open as well, and would offer a better platform for success than SC. Both of those jobs are part of the 5-10 programs that would pay more than what SC is offering.
- Miami is probably an open offer and is probably the best mix of local recruiting talent and degree of difficulty to get to the CFP.
- Missouri might offer as much as SC, or try to outbid them.
- Cons:
- We're seeing right now how demanding both UT and LSU fanbases can be; Strong is in serious danger of getting run off after 23 months. LSU is considering paying a massive buyout to get rid of a coach who has AVERAGED 11 wins/season and has a NC. In addition, at UT there are bizarre politics and demands on the HC due to the LHN commitments.
- Miami is going to offer much less money than SC
- Missouri has a weird socio-political environment right now, which impacts the football team. Moreover, there's probably less talent in Missouri and bordering states than at SC. He'd also have to follow Pinkel, who's considered by the MU faithful to be one of the best coaches in the history of the program; tough act to follow.
Considering all of that, is there a reason you WOULDN'T go to SC? The money's the likely best, the fanbase isn't too demanding, and there's plenty of resources to be successful.