Tom Herman said Sunday that he never envisioned becoming head coach at Texas while serving as a graduate assistant with the Longhorns under Mack Brown in 1999 and 2000.
AUSTIN - Six days into his job as a lowly Texas graduate assistant in 1999, Tom Herman was dispatched to the back of a pickup truck, told to sit next to Ricky Williams during his Heisman Trophy parade, and instructed to make sure no one touched the star running back.
During the next two years, Herman took notes in offensive meetings, picked up a few visitors at the airport, made 12 copies when he was asked for 10, and fetched three pencils every time he was asked for one.
Now, this is the part of the anecdote where Herman was supposed to reminisce about how he spent every one of those days dreaming he someday would return to UT and lead one of the biggest, most storied football programs in the country.
But as he stood in Bellmont Hall more than 17 years after he arrived, this time wearing an expensive suit while the university president lauded him as "the hottest coach in college football," Herman could not even pretend to claim he envisioned this.
"I don't know that my dreams ever got that big," Herman said Sunday.
On the day he was introduced as the 30th head football coach in Longhorns history, Herman dared not to paint his long, far-flung climb through the college ranks as a fairy tale come true. Nor did he describe his new job in majestic terms of awe.
Instead, he embraced the task of righting a program coming off three consecutive losing seasons and turning it back into a national power. He spoke of his position not as one he was lucky to have, but as one he had earned.
And when he was reminded that his predecessor, Charlie Strong, predicted that whoever coaches the Longhorns will win 10 games in 2017 and a national title soon, Herman said those expectations don't make him uncomfortable.
"Pressure is self-inflicted," said Herman, who won six straight games against ranked opponents while going 22-4 in two seasons at Houston. "Pressure is self-doubt when you're unprepared. We're prepared for this job. We're prepared for success at this job. We're prepared for adversity in this job. So I don't feel any sense of pressure at all."
Herman, 41, was introduced Sunday by UT president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin, the two men who met with him late Friday night and into Saturday morning as they negotiated the terms of his joining the Longhorns.
Fenves confirmed he performed "due diligence" on Herman before the end of the season in preparation for a possible coaching change. Perrin called Herman "the real deal, the right choice and a great choice," but neither official spoke in detail about UT's hiring process.
"What is important is that in the end, we got our man," Fenves said.
Herman's contract, which a UT source confirmed will be a five-year deal eventually worth $6 million per year, is expected to be approved by the university's board of regents this week.
Herman declined to comment on possible additions to his staff, but the Houston Chronicle confirmed defensive line coach Oscar Giles, tight ends coach Corby Meekins, offensive line coach Derek Warehime, and cornerbacks coach Jason Washington will join him in Austin.
Among the UT dignitaries in attendance for Sunday's introduction were Edith Royal, the widow of legendary former coach Darrell Royal, as well as ex-athletic director DeLoss Dodds and former coach Mack Brown.
Brown, who hired Herman as a graduate assistant in 1999 and has kept in touch with him ever since, said he expects UT's new coach to be a huge success.
"What you saw in '99 is what you saw today," Brown said. "He's very bright, very passionate, and cares about everything he does."
During his 45-minute news conference Sunday, Herman also hit all of the required notes, thanking his former players, administrators and fans at Houston and reaching out to the state's high school coaches, mentioning several by name.
He also showed a belief in his system, which was honed through seven different stops as an assistant and unleashed at Houston. Asked what kind of adjustments he will need to make moving to a bigger conference, Herman answered, "None."
That being said, he was sure to credit Strong, whom he called "a heck of a man and a heck of a football coach," for the work he'd done over the previous three years. Herman said he told his new players in a team meeting Sunday they were right to be devoted to Strong and that many of his principles would remain in place.
"But I also told them that the definition of insanity is repeatedly performing the same act and expecting different results," Herman said, "and that we need to change some things."
In the meantime, how does Herman process the idea that he's now in charge of the program he once served as a mere graduate assistant?
"You don't," he said. "I haven't had a chance to wrap my head around really much of it. As a coach, I don't know that you ever do. … I'll leave the reflection to when I retire."