Florida State is hiring former Texas, Houston and Florida Atlantic coach Tom Herman to its coaching staff for the 2026 season, a source told ESPN on Monday, confirming a report. A second source later told ESPN that Herman will be an assistant to head coach Mike Norvell.
Herman, 51, last coached in 2024 with Florida Atlantic, when he was fired shortly before the end of his second season. He went 54-20 with Houston and then Texas, recording top-10 finishes in 2015 (Houston) and 2017 (Texas), and went 6-16 at FAU.
Herman spent 2021 as an offensive analyst with the Chicago Bears but hasn't been a college assistant since a three-year run as Ohio State's offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2014 under coach Urban Meyer.
He built his profile as an offensive playcaller, holding coordinator roles with Texas State, Rice and Iowa State before coming to Ohio State, where he won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2014, when the Buckeyes won the national championship. Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn retired in February, and while Tim Harris Jr. was promoted to the OC role, Norvell is set to reclaim offensive playcalling duties this coming season.
On3 first reported Herman's hiring at Florida State.
