One of the biggest questions after the hiring of Tom Herman at Texas was how the former Houston Cougar head man would fill out his staff. He couldn’t snag his offense when Houston hired Major Applewhite, but he did get one of the architects of a fearsome defensive front when he hired Todd Orlando.
Orlando’s had a stop in Utah State as a defensive coordinator before his gig in Houston and before he was hired at Texas.
Houston struggled in their season ending bowl game with San Diego State, losing by a score of 34-10. Houston led for the majority of the game, but the Aztecs were able to find the creases in the Cougar defense and exploit the mistakes of the Cougar offense to make this one look like a complete domination. There’s a lot to unpack in that game, including the four Greg Ward interceptions, but that can’t be pinned on Orlando.
A huge part of Houston’s success has been thanks to the defense Orlando has crafted using great recruits. He’ll have all the talent he needs and more to get his defense humming at Texas, but he’s also walking into a conference that can make even the best defenses look pedestrian.
Time will tell whether this was the right move for Herman, or whether Todd Orlando can succeed at what will be easily one of the most difficult jobs of his career. For right now, it appears to be at least a good move as Herman continues to fill out the rest of his staff.
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